Jets fall to 0-3 after fourth-quarter rally ends with heartbreaking loss to Bucs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin is hugged by his teammates after scoring a field goal to win the game against the Jets on Sunday in Tampa. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
TAMPA, Fla. — The Jets celebrated in the end zone, jumping on and slapping Will McDonald after he blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.
Aaron Glenn ran down the sideline and then high-stepped a little.
It was quite a scene.
Dramatic.
Emotional
Euphoric.
But a few minutes later, the Jets’ good feelings were gone.
Tampa Bay’s Chase McLaughlin kicked a 36-yard field goal with no time remaining to hand the Jets a devastating and gut-wrenching 29-27 loss on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
The Jets showed fight by coming back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t get the stop they needed and fell to 0-3 to start the Glenn era. It’s the fourth time in seven years that the Jets have dropped the first three games of the season.
“We’re not the same team as what everyone says, ‘Same Old Jets,’ ” Glenn said. “These guys are going to fight no matter what the situation is. There’s no give-up in them. I hate that term, and I really don’t know what that term means. But I know this. They are not the ‘Same Old Jets.’ These guys are fighters.”
The Jets fell behind big because they were victimized by some of their same old tendencies: turnovers, penalties and overall ineffective play on offense.
But with the Bucs leading 23-6 in the fourth quarter, the Jets scored three touchdowns in a span of 8:23. McDonald did it all on the last one, blocking McLaughlin’s 43-yard field-goal attempt, picking up the bouncing ball and running 50 yards for the score before Nick Folk’s extra point gave the Jets a 27-26 lead with 1:49 left.
McDonald hurdled over the offensive line to make the game-changing play. “I feel like it was kind of like a legendary play for me, probably the best play I’ve ever made in my NFL career,” said the third-year pro.
There’s no denying that.
“You feel like you climb a mountain, getting back to take a lead,” receiver Garrett Wilson said.
But the Jets fell off that mountain. Quickly.
The Buccaneers began their final drive at their own 34. Baker Mayfield completed a 28-yard pass to rookie Emeka Egbuka to the Jets’ 38 on second down. Two plays later, Mayfield connected with former Giant Sterling Shepard for 20 yards to the Jets’ 18.
Tampa Bay ran on first down and then Mayfield took a knee, setting up McLaughlin’s fifth and deciding field goal.
“We definitely got to get a stop,” defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said. “Whenever you have the opportunity to close the game, put the team on your back as a defense, we got to get a stop. We got to close the game.”
Tyrod Taylor, filling in for Justin Fields (concussion), was 26-for-36 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor also lost a fumble and threw a pick-6 late in the first half. Wilson had 10 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Mayfield was 19-for-29 for 233 yards and a touchdown. Egbuka caught six passes for 85 yards. Mike Evans caught four passes for 33 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
As Glenn preached that this is something the Jets can build off, some players acknowledged that they’d better start winning games soon.
“You’re 0-and-3,” Wilson said. “It’s an uphill battle as far as where we’re at, but it’s still learning.”
Williams said the Jets have to “delete the negative things” that are causing the Jets to lose games.
“We got to get it out fast, man, because this season is about to start rolling,” he said. “It’s been rolling, and you don’t want to look up and be 0-and-10. We got to get those things corrected.”
Folk kicked field goals (38, 42 yards) on the Jets’ first two series. After that, the Jets either turned the ball over or gave it up on downs on four of their next six drives.
Taylor’s pass intended for Wilson was picked off by Jamel Dean and returned 55 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the first half. It put the Jets in a 20-6 hole.
After Wilson caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, the Buccaneers went ahead 26-13 on McLaughlin’s 55-yard field goal with 6:13 to go. The Jets kept attacking, though.
They closed to 26-20 on Taylor’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard on fourth-and-goal with 3:40 left. It was reviewed because Lazard caught it while falling down in the back of the end zone and the ball was loose. After review, it was deemed a catch.
On the next possession, the Jets allowed a 33-yard run by Mayfield to their 29. The Bucs lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 20, trying to get the Jets to jump offsides, but they didn’t. Tampa Bay took the delay-of-game penalty, moving McLaughlin back five more yards.
McDonald made an unbelievable play and the Jets took the lead, but they couldn’t close it out.
“You can build on this,” Glenn said. “I understand that the New York media tries to do the negative parts of it, but I’m not going to be that way. We’re going to look at the things that we did well and we’re going to continue to push forward. We’re going to improve, we’re going to make sure we get over that hump. I do know that.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
