Al Iannazzone: The Jets still haven't figured out how to beat playoff-caliber teams like the Patriots
New England Patriots wide receiver Efton Chism III, right, makes a catch as Jets safety Dane Belton defends during the second half of an NFL game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday. Credit: AP/Mark Stockwell
The Jets are a much better team than they were a year ago, but still not good enough. Not good enough to beat the reigning AFC champions even when they weren’t at their best or healthiest.
That’s what makes the Jets’ 26-19 loss to the Patriots on Sunday so difficult to accept. It showed that they’re still a ways away from being a team that can be taken seriously no matter how improved they are.
The Jets still don’t know how to win games.
Their record says they’re 2-4. They are 0-7 against AFC East opponents during Aaron Glenn’s tenure. The climb to relevance and respectability comes with grimy wins on the road against good teams and teams in your division.
The Jets had opportunities throughout this game to put up more points, to stop the Patriots from scoring. They almost had another opportunity to tie it at the end when Jason Sanders’ onside kick was dropped by the Patriots’ A.J. Brown, but the Jets couldn’t recover it.
The way the Jets operated in those moments just shows the difference between them and playoff-caliber teams.
Throw away last week against Cleveland. The Browns have a winning record, but they’re not the Patriots. New England made its share of mistakes but still had the cushion it needed to send the Jets home with their 16th loss in their last 17 games at Gillette Stadium.
“It came down to two things: our ability to finish and our detail when it comes to defensive football,” Glenn said. “So finishing on offense and detail on defense is something that we got to get better.”
Glenn was speaking truths. This was a winnable game if the Jets had executed on offense and played smarter on defense.
Brown was back after missing the previous four games because of injury, and he was out of rhythm. He dropped the onside kick and several passes. The Patriots lost receiver Romeo Doubs in the first quarter after he made a diving catch of a 42-yard touchdown pass.
New England was playing behind a makeshift offensive line and three starters exited because of injuries, but the Jets didn’t do enough to take advantage of the situation.
They got very little pressure on quarterback Drake Maye, who had three touchdown passes. After sacking Deshaun Watson eight times last week, the Jets didn’t get home once on Maye. He had too much time to throw.
“It’s tough to explain, to be honest with you, because I have all the confidence in the world in our front and being able to cause havoc,” Glenn said about his defense’s no-sack game. “He actually escaped a number of those sacks that we had. So we got to do a better job making sure we get him on the ground when we do have him in our grasp.”
Defensive miscommunications and not wrapping guys up hurt the Jets in this game, but when they made potential game-changing plays, the offense didn’t do its part.
Glenn’s defense forced two second-half takeaways and the offense turned them into two field goals.
Rookie David Bailey punched the ball out of TreVeyon Henderson’s hands in the third quarter and Jamien Sherwood picked it up. The Jets had the ball at the Patriots’ 36 down 17-10 with a chance to erase a 14-point halftime deficit, but Geno Smith was sacked on third down and the Jets had to settle for Sanders’ field goal.
On the Jets’ next drive, Smith threw his first interception of the season. He was under pressure and lofted it over Kenyon Sadiq’s head in Patriots territory. Smith called it “a bad read, bad play by me.”
After recovering another fumble in the fourth quarter in their own territory, the Jets drove and had a first down at the Patriots’ 22. Smith then threw three straight incomplete passes, the last two under pressure.
“There were some critical moments where we didn’t execute at our best,” Smith said. “We got to have those. Those hurt the most because I feel like this was a game we could have won had we executed in those moments.”
The Jets still are without running back Breece Hall and receiver Adonai Mitchell, but it was a bad day overall for the offense. Rookie Omar Cooper Jr. caught a 14-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive, but it was negated by a penalty on Tim Patrick. He saw Smith scrambling and thought he was running, so Patrick blocked a defender. Smith threw the ball, though, and Patrick was flagged for pass interference.
That was a tough play because Patrick had his back to Smith, but it was an important one.
Those plays add up, especially for a team that definitely is improved but still doesn’t know how to win.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
