Week 5 was everything the previous four weeks had been for the New York Jets: ugly in every way imaginable.
The offense again appeared unimaginative, scoring just one touchdown, which came following a muffed punt. Wide receiver Vyncint Smith made the most of his lone touch, rushing for a 19-yard touchdown. That was it. The team appeared uncompetitive and the offensive line was a turnstile all game long, failing to accomplish basic feats while allowing the quarterback to be sacked 10 times in the 31-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Getting outscored 101-34 through the first four games isn’t exactly a recipe for success.
As the Jets were manhandled on the road, some eye-opening numbers did stem from New York’s fourth consecutive loss of the season. Here are the five most interesting stats from Week 5:
10 sacks
The Jets offensive line continued to struggle even with lineup changes, allowing 10 sacks. A breakdown of the Eagles’ sacks shows the Jets struggled against a four-man rush, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. When the Eagles rushed only four, Gang Green allowed eight sacks and 12 pressures.
The last time the Jets allowed 10 sacks in a game was Week 16 in 2012. The San Diego Chargers sacked Greg McElroy 11 times, and he left with a concussion. Luke Falk also left Sunday’s game with a suspected concussion, but, after undergoing testing, he was cleared by the medical staff.
In an attempt to deter pressure, Adam Gase made an adjustment in his game plan. The Jets head coach used more packages with multiple tight ends than usual to aid in pass protection. New York used two or three tight ends on 24 plays (40 percent of snaps), per NFL Next Gen Stats. Obviously, it still did not work.
Gase’s skid hits 7
With Sunday’s loss, Adam Gase has dropped seven straight games in a row as a head coach.
This losing streak dates back to last season in Miami, when he lost three straight games to finish 8-8. It led to his firing.
In those seven games, his teams have managed four total offensive touchdowns. To be fair to Gase, his quarterbacks in those seven games have been Ryan Tannehill, an ill Sam Darnold, Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk. Still, his tenure in New York is starting to resemble what went so wrong for him in Miami.
Eagles make history
The Eagles became the first team in NFL history to record 10 sacks and score two defensive touchdowns in a single game, per Dennis Waszak of the Associated Press.
That is a clear indictment of where the Jets offense stands. Adam Gase accepted responsibility for the unit’s struggles.
“The defense is playing good, the special teams is playing good,” Gase said. “We all know which group needs to play better. That’s on me. I told those guys in there that I’ll get it fixed. It’s on me, nobody else. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The accountability is there, but the results have yet to reflect that.
Curse of the Birds
The Jets are 0-11 against the Eagles all-time after Sunday’s loss.
It’s the most losses without a win against a single opponent in NFL history, per Elias Sports. From 1931-1944, the Brooklyn Tigers were 10-0 vs. the Green Bay Packers.
Quinnen Williams returns, but where was Ty Montgomery?
Williams returned from his ankle injury on Sunday after missing two games. The Jets rookie defensive lineman played 46 of 59 snaps on defense, recording a combined five tackles.
The only other defensive lineman who saw more snaps than Williams was Leonard Williams with 48.
On the other side of the football, Montgomery’s snap numbers are awfully puzzling. He took just seven of 56 snaps. The Jets have not used him like the complementary back to Le’Veon Bell that they advertised him to be.
Montgomery has barely been a factor, which goes against everything New York did in training camp and the preseason. Through four games, he has nine carries for 31 yards and three catches for 15 yards.
