The New York Jets are back at the panic stations after a 31-6 dismantling by the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. They now hold a dismal 3-7 record going into a Week 11 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium.
There is no wiggle room left for Aaron Rodgers and Gang Green, and Super Bowl aspirations have all but vanished into the cold air. Interim head coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has gone “back to fundamentals and basics” with his team, even putting on a tackling presentation for the team on Wednesday.
“Obviously, it’s been extremely hard on everybody — players, coaches, everybody — because we all had high expectations,” Ulbrich said. “It wasn’t just the fan base, it wasn’t just the outside world. The fact that we have fallen short at this point of the season has been extremely disappointing, hard, and challenging in a lot of ways.
“That’s where I’m just so fortunate that the group that we have, the DNA and the character of them, is so unique and so different than most teams in locker rooms out there, in my opinion. They have stayed together and they continue to work their butts off. We are very fortunate in that way, but it’s been challenging.”
Gang Green’s one bright spark this season has been their defense, which ranks among the top 10 scoring defenses in the league with 21.4 ppg, but it looked shaky last Sunday.
Kyler Murray was allowed to go on a rampage, collecting 266 yards for one touchdown and no interceptions. The losses seem to have gotten to everyone, and Sauce Gardener paid special attention to critics after the defense’s performance, tweeting, “Yup, I’m 100% sure me missing that tackle at the beginning of the 2nd quarter for a gain of 17 yards was the costliest miss, and that is in fact what lost us the game.”
“I think everybody in this building needs to play at a higher level, coach at a higher level, and have more accountability,” Ulbrich said. “So we all need to improve in that way. Sauce recognizes the fact that he has a very high standard for himself, as we have a very high standard for him, and he knows that. He needs to — and wants to — play better, and he’s working his butt off to get that accomplished. He is part of all of us in the building who need to do a better job.”
The pass rush — third in the league with 32 sacks — slowed down as well, only getting hands on Murray once.
On the other side of the field, Rodgers was drab against the Cardinals, throwing 151 yards, totaling 4.3 yards per attempt and 0-3 in the red zone. Although his protection hasn’t helped — they allowed five sacks against the Cardinals and the Texans — and are about to come up against a Colts pass rush that is tied-18th in the league with 22 sacks this season.
“He’s been 100% supportive of this entire staff and team and getting this thing fixed,” Ulbrich said. “Whatever the case may be, he’s trying to be a part of the solution right now and I got great gratitude for that”
The Colts have also struggled this season with a 4-6 record but sit second in the AFC South.
It’s a similar story on offense for Indianapolis. They have gone five straight games scoring under 21 points, putting up 20 last week against the Bills but were 4-11 on third downs. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco started against the Buffalo Bills last week, relegating Anthony Richardson to the bench for the second week in a row.
Flacco completed 26 of 35 for 270 yards and three interceptions, while the Colts are dead last in the league for completion percentage. However, the wheels on the receivers are starting to heat up — Alec Pierce caught four of seven targets for 81 yards and a touchdown, Josh Downs went seven for 10 attempts with 72 yards, and Adonai Mitchel caught everything that was thrown at him, totaling 71 yards.
Two weeks with no action has apparently changed Richardson, as he has been confirmed as QB1 for their trip to the Big Apple, head coach Shane Steichen confirmed on Wednesday.
“I just showed I’m willing to be a pro,” Richardson said. “I’m willing to sacrifice anything I need to for the team. I feel like these past few weeks have definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to have the opportunity to do that and just take a deeper dive and look into myself and see what I’m made of. I’m thankful for these past two weeks, and I’m lowkey glad they happened.”
Ulbrich is fighting for his future coaching career amidst all the noise calling for a new head coach, which the Jets need to search long and hard for. He and his team need a comeback win again to stave off the pressure.
“I tried to address it with the team today — really getting reconnected to why you play this game. This game is not easy, you know,” Ulbrich said. “It’s not easy from any standpoint — physically, mentally, emotionally. So what is your why to come into this building every day and be the best version of yourself and work your butt off and sacrifice like they do on a daily basis. So get reconnected to that, because if you’re trying to please the outside world, that’ll never happen. So really get back to pleasing the men in this building, teammates, coaches, players, all of us.”
