On a gloomy day at MetLife Stadium, the atmosphere was as heavy as the dark clouds hanging over the field. The weather wasn’t the only thing casting a shadow in East Rutherford, N.J., as the home team, the New York Jets, suffered a disappointing 10-9 defeat against the visiting Denver Broncos.
The star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, shouldered some of the blame for the lackluster performance of the offense. The unit failed to score a single touchdown and only managed to rack up 248 yards of total offense. This was a far cry from the high expectations set for the talented Jets offense at the beginning of the season.
“I can’t say I had a spectacular game,” Rodgers admitted to reporters after the loss. “I missed some throws. The weather sucked, but so did some of my throws. We had some chances, but way too many mental mistakes, too many poor throws, and then we just missed some easy stuff, some protection stuff that should’ve been easy, some route-adjustment stuff that should’ve been easy. Our focus wasn’t as sharp as it’s been in the first three weeks.”
Jets head coach, Robert Saleh, expressed his concern about the team’s pre-snap issues. “We got to figure it out,” Saleh said. “Whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence. Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously, today took a major step back.”
Rodgers echoed Saleh’s sentiments about the pre-snap penalties, calling them “way out of character” for his offense. He hopes that their performance on Sunday was just an anomaly. The absence of starting right tackle Morgan Moses, who was sidelined with a knee injury from the previous week’s game against the New England Patriots, forced rookie Olumuyiwa Fashanu to step in.
As the Jets lick their wounds and reflect on their lackluster performance, they know they have work to do to bounce back from this setback. The dark clouds may have hovered over MetLife Stadium on Sunday, but the team is determined to find silver linings as they move forward in the season.
