Jets still have Browns loss on their minds
Todd Bowles often talks of a 24-hour rule after games, where his team either has 24 hours to celebrate a victory or to mourn a loss before they start focusing on the next game.
It’s been nearly a week since Thursday’s 21-17 loss in Cleveland, and yet somehow, they can’t seem to shake the indignity of being the first team to lose to the Browns since Christmas Eve 2016. And that’s not a good sign with an upcoming trip to north Florida to face the defending AFC finalist Jaguars (2-1).
In his weekly interview on WFAN in New York on Tuesday, loquacious second-year strong safety Jamal Adams said the Jets (1-2) didn’t have a game plan in place for Cleveland rookie Baker Mayfield, only starter Tyrod Taylor. After Taylor left the game due to a concussion in the second quarter with the Jets leading 14-0, Mayfield went 17-for-23 passing for 201 yards, rallying the Browns to only their second victory in the last 38 games. The Jets had held Taylor to 4-of-14 passing for 19 yards, and 22 rushing yards on four carries.
“We had to be open to knowing that Baker could come in, but we were prepared for Tyrod,” Adams said. “When Baker came in, obviously we didn’t have a game plan for him. But hats off to him. He came in, he definitely played lights out. They gained momentum, and we just couldn’t grab it back.”
In his postgame comments, Bowles said the Browns ran the same offensive package for both quarterbacks, so presumably, no adjustments needed to be made.
And that was pretty evident to the naked eye, too. It’s just that Mayfield played much better than Taylor. He got the ball out quicker, mostly negating the Jets’ pass rush after Jordan Jenkins’ strip-sack on his third-ever play, he kept his eyes downfield and he delivered far crisper passes.
Yet, there was Bowles after Wednesday’s practice, having to defend his player through gritted teeth.
“Well, he misspoke and he didn’t mean it,” the coach, who is now 21-30 with the Jets, said about Adams. “He’s a young player. Part of having a young player as a leader is, sometimes he’s gonna have growing pains. It’s a teachable moment, he understands that. We talked about it.”
Here’s the problem: This isn’t the first time Bowles has had a “teachable moment” with Adams. During training camp, Adams had to walk back comments he made in the offseason saying some of the players on last year’s Jets weren’t always willing to put extra time and effort into their jobs.
Said Bowles when questioned about that: “This won’t be the last (mistake) he makes going forward, but he understands where he is and I understand where he is and I’m fine.”
The 22-year-old Adams, who is the son of former Giants running back George Adams, often feels the need to be the spokesperson not only for the Jets’ defense, but the team as a whole. Maybe he just wants to get Bowles fired?
Either way, it’s a lot of distractions for a player that’s a budding star, but isn’t quite there yet. Adams is very good stopping the run when he’s near the line of scrimmage, but his pass coverage still leaves plenty to be desired.
His Tuesday comments also took away from focusing on the Jaguars, who despite their 9-6 loss to the Titans on Sunday, provide a formidable test Sunday.
The defense is still one of the best in the league, having allowed only three touchdowns in the first three games, with an efficient rushing offense (4.6 yards per carry) and a quarterback in Blake Bortles who doesn’t make nearly as many mistakes as he used to (only two interceptions through three game).
And, on the Jets’ side of the ball, Sam Darnold is making far too many mistakes. The 21-year-old rookie is tied for the league lead with five interceptions. His 72 passer rating is fifth worst in the league among qualified quarterbacks, and of the four worse than him, two were benched this week (Taylor and the Cardinals’ Sam Bradford) and the Titans’ Blaine Gabbert is a backup.
After Mayfield came into last week’s game, Darnold went 11-for-22 for 131 yards and two INTs.
Sunday will be the Jets’ third road game in their first four, while Jacksonville is home for the third straight week. There’s no more time for looking back, Bowles said, and he’s right, since the Jets’ next six opponents — Jacksonville, Denver, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Chicago and Miami — have a combined 11-6-1 record.
They are 7.5-point underdogs for Sunday’s game against the Jags as of Wednesday evening.
Said Bowles: “We’re on to Jacksonville this week, the Cleveland game is a distant memory for me.”
It had better be for his players, as well, otherwise it’s going to be a long Sunday in Florida.
SERIES HISTORY: 13th regular-season meeting. Series tied, 6-6. The Jets have won four straight against the Jags, including last year’s 23-20 Week 4 overtime win at MetLife Stadium, when Chandler Catanzaro hit the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out with 28 seconds left to avoid a tie. The Jets led 20-10 going into the fourth quarter and had possession in the Jacksonville red zone, but Josh McCown threw a backward swing pass Bilal Powell wasn’t ready for, and linebacker Myles Jack scooped it up and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown. McCown also threw a fourth-quarter interception to corner A.J. Bouye, and the Jags tied the game on current Jets kicker Jason Myers’ 22-yard field goal with 46 seconds left in regulation.
But Lachlan Edwards, who earlier threw a 31-yard pass on a fake punt, pinned Jacksonville inside its own 5-yard line with a career-long 70-yard punt with 2:06 left in overtime, the defense forced a three-and-out and Paul Posluszny’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jeremy Kerley’s punt return set them up on the Jags’ 25-yard line, leading to the winning score.
The Jets also beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville’s third-ever game, Sept. 17, 1995, as Boomer Esiason threw touchdown passes to Wayne Chrebet, Kyle Brady and Charles Wilson in a 27-10 win — one of only three wins for the Jets that season under head coach Rich Kotite.
In the teams’ only playoff meeting, Bill Parcells’ Jets beat Tom Coughlin’s Jags, 34-24, in the divisional round, behind two touchdowns from Keyshawn Johnson (one receiving, one rushing) and another two rushing from Curtis Martin. Mark Brunell went only 12-of-31 passing that day, and the Jets picked him off three times, including Johnson snagging his Hail Mary pass as a defensive back with nine seconds to play.
The last Jacksonville win in the series was Nov. 15, 2009, when Josh Scobee hit a 21-yard field goal on the last play of the game in a lackluster quarterback battle between David Garrard (16-for-26 for 221 yards, one TD) and Mark Sanchez (16-for-30 for 212 yards, one TD, two INTs). Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 123 yards and a score for the Jags, while Thomas Jones went for 77 and a touchdown for New York at old Giants Stadium.
