Another week, another poor showing from Zach Wilson and the New York Jets offense in a 30-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, officially eliminating them from playoff contention this season.
It has now been 11 years that the Jets have not made the playoffs.
They were outgained 344-256 to fall to 3-10 while Wilson completed just 19-of-42 passes for 202 yards; good for a measly passer rating of 59.8.
He was outdueled by fellow BYU quarterback Taysom Hill, who was far more efficient by completing 15 of his 21 pass attempts on Sunday for 175 yards to go with 77 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. However, it was Saints running back Alvin Kamara who possessed most of the offensive clout in the Meadowlands.
The star back posted 120 rushing yards and a touchdown while adding another 25 yards on four receptions.
Granted, the defense didn’t provide much to write home about, either, as they yielded at least 30 points in a game for the sixth time in their last eight outings.
As has become customary, the Jets’ offense had nothing going early on as they fell behind by a field goal after recording just 16 yards on their first three drives of the afternoon.
After getting the ball near midfield two minutes into the second quarter, an 18-yard scramble from Wilson got the Jets in plus territory for the first time on Sunday, leading to a game-tying field goal from Eddy Pineiro — who was signed earlier in the week.
While the Jets’ defense was faring well against the Saints, they had no answers for Kamara, who posted 94 of New Orleans’ 129 total yards in the first half including 75 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
With 3:42 to go in the second quarter, his 16-yard rushing score gave the Saints a seven-point lead while putting the game’s first touchdown on the board. The Jets would cut the deficit to four just before halftime when Pineiro hit a 46-yard field goal as time expired.
After a pair of punts to open the second half, the Saints embarked on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that got down to the Jets’ 8-yard-line, but New York’s defense hung tough to force another New Orleans field goal as its deficit re-extended to a touchdown with 58 seconds to go in the third quarter. They tacked on another nearly four minutes later to go up 10 in the final frame.
The Jets turned the ball over on downs after driving to midfield on the ensuing drive, which ultimately clinched another loss for them. With the short field, the Saints methodically took nearly five minutes off the clock to deliver the hammer blow of Sunday’s festivities as Hill kept it himself for a two-yard touchdown with 5:28 to go.
The Jets opted to kick a third field goal to make it a two-score game but instead of running out the clock, the Saints blew the doors off Gang Green.
On a 3rd-&-12 from the Jets’ 44-yard-line, Hill
