At this rate, the New York Jets will never see Adam Gase’s brilliant offensive mind in action for the franchise.
Hours after reports emerged that the front office was going to evaluate the head coach’s standing within the organization — this just two a few weeks into Gase’s second season at the position — the Jets were pummeled 36-7 by the Indianapolis in another mundane showing from Gang Green’s attack.
Sam Darnold, while forced to play the role of magician to find any sort of sliver of offensive success, was held to 168 yards passing with a touchdown and three interceptions in his worst showing of the young season.
Two of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns to add insult to injury — the first coming on the Jets’ opening drive of the afternoon when his throw toward the left sideline was cut off by Xavier Rhodes, who took it 44 yards for the score.
Darnold would find a momentary answer with a 16-yard touchdown to Braxton Berrios, but the Colts — led by the wily veteran and long-time Charger, Philipp Rivers — pulled ahead for good before the first quarter was out, sparking a 29-0 scoring run.
Rivers didn’t light up the stat sheet, but he was efficient, completing 17-of-21 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown.
An Indianapolis run game by committee did plenty of heavy lifting, posting 119 yards and a touchdown, which came from Jonathan Taylor.
The Colts would outgain the Jets 353-260, though the lopsided appearance on the scoreboard was only exacerbated by Darnold’s costly pick-sixes — the second coming on the final play of the third quarter when miscommunication saw the Jets quarterback throw to the inside while his receiver, Chris Hogan, cut toward the right sideline. There waiting was TJ Carrie, who returned it 47 yards for the touchdown to make it a 31-7 game.
Such an ugly effort dropped the Jets to 0-3 on the season while making Gase’s hot seat that much warmer.
“I mean, I’m going to do what I always do, come back to work tomorrow and try to get things fixed,” Gase said after the game. “That’s something I can’t worry about; I got to focus on getting our guys ready.”
He doesn’t have much time to regroup, either, as the Jets have a Thursday-night tilt with the Denver Broncos in primetime.
