This Is Why the Jets Are 0-12

By Darragh Holland

As the Jets got the ball back with a chance to finish the game, it looked like they were finally going to get that elusive first win of the season.

A quick three and out left the Raiders with just 35 seconds on the clock to possibly get one first down and then throw up a Hail Mary as time expired. They had also used up all their timeouts.

Henry Ruggs III scored the game winner against an all-out blitz from the Jets. (USA TODAY Sports)

But with 13 seconds left to play, the Jets decided to bring an all-out-blitz and leave rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson out one-on-one with receiver Henry Ruggs III. A simple stutter step and go allowed Ruggs III to get in behind Jackson, and with no safety help over the top, Carr could just heave it out there and let his receiver chase it down.

As this play was from the Jets’ 46-yard line, a reception in bounds and finishing anywhere inside the red zone would have probably ended the game as the Raiders wouldn’t have had time to get all the way down and spike the ball.

All the New York Jets had to do was play it safe and keep the Raiders in bounds while having extra cover in the endzone. Instead of that, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams decided to call for a blitz that left the three Jets defensive backs one-on-one down the field.

A call that has since cost him his job.

This means that the Jets are the only team this season to send eight or more rushers on a play in the last 30 seconds of a game.

And the Raiders took their opportunity. 

It’s like a mistake we make when playing “Madden” and get a rush of blood to the head, not what you expect from a seasoned NFL defensive coordinator like Gregg Williams.

Even Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was quoted after the game as being surprised. “I couldn’t believe they all-out blitzed us,” says Carr.

Jets players also seemed confused at the play call, so it won’t do much for the morale of a team already at rock bottom.

It all adds up to a team showing exactly how to become a 0-12 team in the NFL.

This could well have been it for the Jets, as it doesn’t get any easier from here. Their last four games are against the Seattle Seahawks, the LA Rams, the Cleveland Browns, and then the New England Patriots. All teams are battling for positions in the playoffs, with their only hope being that maybe the Patriots could be out of contention by then and might not have just as much on the line.

It really begs the question of whether the Jets are going all-out tank mode.

You hear players and coaches deny these things all the time and it makes sense as everyone is playing/coaching for their jobs at the end of the day. But maybe Adam Gase has been given a guarantee on his job and is happy to bank his coaching career on getting Trevor Lawrence and turning it all around.

If that’s not the case, then there should be a lot of worried faces in New York, as no one wants to be on an 0-16 team. A clear-out will mean a lot of men looking for work. After Gases’ tenure in Miami, he will have to work very hard to get anywhere near a head coaching job again any time soon.

Sam Darnold will likely be looking for an opportunity to start elsewhere beyond the season. (Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

And while Sam Darnold has shown some promise, the hyper-competitive nature of the NFL means some players' careers can be over before they even get a fair crack at it.

If the Jets, as expected, draft Trevor Lawrence as the number one pick, then Darnold will more than likely be moved and have every possibility of being a backup quarterback, or possibly competing for a starting job, elsewhere. The Jets really can’t take the risk of not taking Lawrence with the top pick, especially if he ends up being as good as everyone expects.

It would come back to haunt them for years to come.

They have gone 5-11 (2015), 5-11 (2016), 7-9 (2017), 4-12 (2018) and 7-9 last season, so an 0-16 season will just put the cherry on top of a disastrous run.

The franchise will need something major to recover and hopes will be pinned on Lawrence helping the Jets turn this sorry mess around.

Darragh is a sports writer for La Tonique Media.