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The New York Jets are starting to get desperate. New York fired Robert Saleh last week in an effort to spark some life in the organization. The Jets responded by closing a close game against the Bills in front of their home fans.
New York is reeling and looking for answers. It is clear that making one slight change, whether that's to the coaching staff or roster, will not be enough to rescue their season by itself.
Both New York and Buffalo were very sloppy in Week 6. They accumulated an insane volume of penalty yards between the two teams. That makes it difficult to determine if each team individually played very undisciplined or if the officiating was straight up awful.
Either way, Jets fans want to know — who is to blame for this embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football?
Below we will explore three Jets players who are the most to blame for losing a winnable Week 6 matchup against the Bills.
Mike Williams was so close to making a huge reception for the Jets
Life comes at you fast in the NFL. Mike Williams knows that better than most people right now.
Williams had a chance to be the hero on Monday Night Football. The Jets had the ball with under two minutes left and were driving down the field in need of points. Aaron Rodgers heaved a deep pass in Williams' direction that did not go as far as Mike intended.
Williams ended up falling down as he slowed down while tracking the football. That tiny mistake was just enough to put him out of position. Instead of catching the ball, it was ripped out of his arms by a Bills defender for an interception. Game over.
While I understand that some might place the blame on Rodgers for an inaccurate throw, I can't help but put the blame on Williams. If he simply hadn't fallen down, he likely would have come down with a huge catch deep in Buffalo territory.
To add insult to injury, the Jets immediately made a move that could cost Williams his job. New York traded for Davante Adams on Tuesday, and shortly afterwards rumors cropped up that Williams is now on the trade block.
Greg Zuerlein left too many points on the table with missed kicks
This one is pretty straightforward. Kickers are hired to make kicks, not miss them. Unfortunately, Greg the Leg was doing more missing than hitting on Monday Night Football.
Zuerlein missed multiple kicks at MetLife Stadium on Monday night. We should note that MetLife Stadium is not the easiest place in the NFL to make kicks. It was a windy night in East Rutherford and when that happens, MetLife Stadium becomes somewhat of a wind tunnel. This makes it difficult for kickers to aim their kicks because of wind gusts.
The problem for Zuerlein is that's your home stadium. NFL kickers should have an advantage when kicking field goals at home because they know the stadium. Instead, Zuerlein looked completely lost.
Zuerlein had kicks hit the uprights on two consecutive drives during the second half. This is incredibly painful when your team ends up losing by three points. Even making one of those kicks would have changed the game, and making both could've gotten the Jets a win.
Jets fans should keep an eye on Zuerlein moving forward.
Tyron Smith, the rest of the Jets offensive line need to play better moving forward
The Jets invested significant resources in the offensive line this offseason. New York likely understood that it would take time for a new offensive line unit to gel. However, I doubt they can wait much longer for improved play from this unit.
There are plenty of new faces on the Jets o-line. In fact, center Joe Tippmann and right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker are the only returning face from the previous season. New York signed John Simpson and Tyron Smith in free agency while trading for Morgan Moses from the Ravens.
The Jets o-line did a solid job of run blocking in Week 6, but they did not give Aaron Rodgers enough protection when passing the football. New York allowed three sacks and five QB hits, which is simply not good enough against an average Bills defense.
Tyron Smith gets a personal shoutout because he had a holding penalty that contributed to New York's loss. Smith negated a four-yard Braelon Allen touchdown run late in the third quarter. The penalty was costly not only because it took the touchdown off the boards. It also pushed the Jets back and eventually forced them to kick a field goal, which Greg Zuerlein missed.
New York's o-line needs to get things figured out in a hurry if the Jets want to make a late-season push to rescue their season.
