A bye week did absolutely nothing to help the Jets right their wrongs and get back on track.
New York turned in yet another ugly performance against the Eagles in Week 5, falling by a final score of 31-6. A stagnant offense, no pass protection and questionable coaching gave the Jets no chance to come away with their first win of the season. Philadelphia was far from perfect on the afternoon, but New York failed to capitalize and the Eagles walked away with an easy win.
Before shifting the focus to next week’s game, here are four takeaways from Gang Green’s latest loss.
What is the coaching staff doing?
The job of an NFL coaching staff is to get its team ready to play regardless of circumstance. New York’s performance in Week 5 was the latest example of its coaching staff failing to accomplish that.
Starting with the decision to give Sam Darnold almost all of the first-team reps in practice instead of working Luke Falk into the mix, the Jets entered Sunday unprepared on offense. Adam Gase’s playcalling didn’t help matters, as he dialed up a handful of questionable calls and that included constant passing plays behind the line of scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wasn’t any better, as he had a defensive lineman covering speedy Eagles running back Miles Sanders on passing plays out of the backfield on multiple occasions.
Inept would be the appropriate word to describe the Jets coaching staff. Their performance against the Eagles is the latest example of that.
Porous Pass Protection
It’s worth wondering whether New York’s offensive line knows what pass protection is.
The Eagles entered Week 5 having only recorded three sacks in their first four games. They sacked Luke Falk three times in the first half alone and 10 times total with Brandon Graham accounting for three.
At this point, who knows if anything can be done to save the Jets’ struggling offensive line. Inserting Chuma Edoga and Alexis Lewis into the starting lineup certainly didn’t do the trick.
Give the defense a little credit
By no means was the Jets defense perfect against the Eagles. However, the unit deserves a little bit of credit for standing tall on multiple occasions.
Yes, New York’s defense was aided by a handful of Philadelphia passes that should’ve been caught and an assortment of penalties. However, there’s still something to be said about how tough the unit played. The Jets limited Carson Wentz to only 108 passing yards and Philadelphia’s rushing attack to only 36 total yards in the first half. Wentz was under duress more often than not in the first half, which speaks to the work New York’s front seven was putting in.
Gregg Williams did not call his best game and the Jets still gave up 24 total points. However, only 14 of those points could be charged to the defense. There’s only so much a defense can do when they spend more than half of the game on the field. Credit New York’s defenders with a solid showing given the circumstances.
The Jets have something in Neville Hewitt
The Jets haven’t had many bright spots this season, but linebacker Neville Hewitt has certainly been one of them.
Thrust into starting duty with Avery Williamson out for the year, Hewitt has done nothing but make plays in the middle of New York’s defense. He led the team with 10 tackles against the Eagles and has been adept at stopping the run throughout the season. He wasn’t too good at dealing with Zach Ertz in pass coverage, but not many linebackers in the league are.
Sometimes injuries allow teams to discover a diamond in the rough. Up until this season, Hewitt was nothing more than a career special teamer. Now, he has proven himself as a legitimate starting linebacker.
.jpg?w=600)
