JACKSONVILLE, Fla. _ The Jets had 10 days to get over their loss to the Browns and prepare for the Jaguars. But they didn't look very prepared.
Todd Bowles' team put forth an awful performance on both sides of the ball and were totally dominated by the Jaguars, 31-12, Sunday afternoon at TIAA Bank Field.
It was the type of performance that doesn't reflect well on the entire coaching staff. The Jaguars led 18-0 and 25-3. The Jets' defense looked slow and unprepared and gave up 507 yards of offense. The Jets' offense sputtered throughout as Sam Darnold looked like a rookie at times. But overall the Jets were overmatched and lost for the third straight game.
And some of the play-calling was head scratching, including going for a field goal when the Jets (1-3) were down 22 points early in the fourth quarter and punting on fourth down late in the game.
Darnold finished 17-for-34 for 167 yards and one touchdown. He threw no picks against a ballhawking defense but the Jaguars (3-1) had two would-be interceptions pop right out of their hands. The Jets totaled 178 yards, and just 34 on the ground.
The Jets couldn't stop Blake Bortles. The Jaguars quarterback completed his first 11 attempts and ended the game 29-for-38 for 388 yards and two touchdowns.
The Jaguars, who lost running back Leonard Fournette in the first half with the hamstring issue that kept him out of the past two games, took a 25-3 lead after Bortles and Donte Moncrief connected on a 67-yard score. Trumaine Johnson was burned badly on that play, but he made up for it later.
With the Jets down 25-6, linebacker Avery Williamson knocked the ball out of T.J. Yeldon's hands. Johnson picked it up and ran 20 yards to the Jaguars' 5. The Jets turned it into six points as Darnold found tight end Jordan Leggett in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 25-12.
The Jets couldn't convert the two-point conversion. But they forced a three-and-out on the Jaguars' next possession. If the Jets were going to stay in the game they needed to do something on that offensive series.
But they went three-and-out. On first down Darnold overthrew an open Robby Anderson, who had a step on his man deep.
The Jaguars drove deep into Jets territory, but Buster Skrine forced and recovered a fumble. The Jets had the ball on their own 14. A big gain on first down by Quincy Enunwa was negated by a holding penalty. The Jets couldn't get a first down and punted.
Things were bad for the Jets from the beginning. The Jaguars had no trouble moving the chains on their first three possessions as Bortles connected on 15 of 16 pass attempts.
They got in the red zone the first two series, but the Jets got third-down stops both times. The Jaguars had to settle for Josh Lambo field goals of 32 and 22 yards.
On the third series, the Jets' defense broke.
They allowed a 17-yard pass play to wide-open tight end James O'Shaughnessy on third-and-14. Two plays later, Bortles hooked up with Yeldon on a short pass that he took in for 31-yard catch-and-run touchdown. The extra point made it 13-0 with 1:47 left in the half.
The Jets, meanwhile, didn't get a first down on their first two drives, and only got two on their third.
Darnold had another chance to get the Jets on the board in the first half, but he was picked off on first down. Darnold was fortunate that it was negated by a defensive holding penalty. It wasn't a good series for Darnold. On third and fourth downs, he overthrew his intended receivers.
It gave Bortles and the Jaguars another shot with 1:07 left, and they were successful, as Lambo kicked a 54-yard field goal with 29 seconds to go to make it 16-0.
The Jaguars scored on all four of their first-half series, and outgained the Jets 270-86.
The Jets finally made a defensive stand to open the second half. But the Jaguars downed the ensuing punt at the 2-yard line, and their defense gave them points and an 18-0 lead on a safety when Isaiah Crowell was brought down in the end zone.
After a second straight stop by the Jets' defense, the offense went three-and-out. On third-and-1 from their 42, the Jets made a curious call, going with an empty backfield. Darnold's pass to Bilal Powell was incomplete.
The Jets finally got on the board on their next series that was set up by Darryl Roberts' interception at the Jaguars' 23.
They converted a key third down as Jermaine Kearse made a 12-yard reception. He was originally ruled out of bounds, but replays showed Kearse got both feet in. Bowles challenged the call and it was overturned, giving the Jets first-and-goal at the 10.
But they advanced only 1 yard and settled for Jason Myers' 27-yard field goal.
