EAST RUTHERFORD — Just when you thought the New York Jets season had hit rock bottom, they find a new low each week.
New York’s offense, looking for accountability in any way they could find, started Tim Boyle at quarterback in their Week 12 contest against the Miami Dolphins.
It made little difference on the scoreboard though.
Miami’s far superior offense overwhelmed a tired and undisciplined Jets defense while New York’s offense was nonexistent in a 34-13 loss to their AFC East Rivals in the first-ever Black Friday NFL game.
“I think we shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Boyle said after his first start with New York. “A couple false starts put us behind the sticks. A couple things that I missed.”
Jets head coach Robert Saleh hoped that a quarterback change would “spark” the offense in a way they had failed to before the week’s contest. New York had failed to record over 14 points in a game in over a month. With Boyle at quarterback though, the group struggled even worse than when Zach Wilson was the quarterback.
Boyle went 27-38 passing for 179 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The offense as a whole though failed to record over 150 yards of total offense while being unable to score over 14 points for the fifth straight game. It also didn’t help that they didn’t score their lone touchdown of the game until late in the final quarter when the outcome was already without doubt.
Arguably the lowest moment for the entire group though came before the half though. After Brandin Echols recorded a pick-six to cut the Jets deficit 10-6 and D.J. Reed gave the offense the ball back with two seconds remaining, New York attempted a normal Hail Mary to see if they could get a miracle catch and go into the half with an improbable lead.
Instead, Dolphins safety Jevon Holland not only picked off the Boyle Hail Mary, but returned it 99 yards for a touchdown without being touched in one of the more improbable endings to a first half in NFL history. The reversal of fortunes left everyone in attendance, and on the sideline for the Jets dumbfounded heading into the halfway point.
“That’s one of those things where it feels like it could describe a lot of things so far,” Garrett Wilson said afterward.
With a 17-6 cushion into the second half Miami turned to their running game to seal the win. In total, the Dolphins recorded more yards rushing than the Jets had of total offense – a mark only adding to Gang Green’s run of futility.
“I’m trying to step into that leadership role which is hard for me,” Breece Hall explained after. “I’ve always been a guy that just did my 1/11th, did my job, so it’s been difficult, but I love our guys. Our guys come to work every day. We’re just not getting the results we want.”
At 4-7, New York has less than a 1% change to make the playoffs this season following their latest loss. New York is actually close to a top five overall pick now than getting back into contention for a playoff spot. That all bein said, and after their third loss in four games of over 20+ points, the atmosphere in the locker room continues to be focused on improving together.
“We all made a commitment to each other,” C.J. Mosley said on SNY. “We’ve got to finish out the season, we’ve got to finish off on the right track, so it starts Monday.”
The Jets are back on the MetLife turf next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm – ET.
Game Notes
- Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was a healthy scratch by the coaching staff before kickoff. With New York so thin at the position, it was a surprise that a veteran like Lazard, who signed a four-year, $44 million free agent deal with the team this offseason, was benched for undrafted rookies like Jason Brownlee and Irv Charles. Saleh later defended the move saying “He (Lazard) has not been playing up to his standard.”
- While New York did not sustain any major injuries on either side of the ball, Miami went through an important one late in the contest. Pass rushing dynamo Jaelan Phillips left the game on a cart for what appeared to be an Achilles injury and was seen leaving MetLife Stadium with a boot and crutches. Miami is expected to give their young edge rusher an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
- New York has now lost four in a row and has struggled to score on offense all season. With undisciplined penalties continuing to increase over the last few weeks, questions surrounding Saleh’s job security have begun to creep up. While the Jets coach said he was not worried about his job status, he also said there is currently “no consideration” to making a change at play-caller on offense.
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