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Now losers of three straight and eight of their last nine, the New York Jets prolific struggles continued into Week 13 during a 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. After the contest, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who should probably add interim to everyone's job titles, successfully dodged a question about whether he had planned on benching starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, per The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt.
“Not as of today.”
Oof. It's not exactly the ringing endorsement one would hope for. However, it's hard to blame Ulbrich. SNY's Connor Hughes pointed out a horrendous Rodgers stat on social media.
“Aaron Rodgers has had five opportunities this year to drive down the field, score a touchdown or field goal, and win the game. The #Jets are 0-5 in those games.”
The Jets are now 3-9, dropping this game, which was very winnable early on. New York held a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Seahawks scored 19 unanswered points to close the game. The Jets committed 12 penalties for 83 yards and turned the ball over twice.
Rodgers' interception came midway through the second quarter. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams dropped back masterfully in coverage, tipped Rodgers' pass in the red zone, gathered the interception, and returned it 92 yards for the score. Even more, the pick-six was the longest in NFL history by a defensive lineman.
The Jets had every opportunity early to put this game away as the Seahawks suffered multiple mistakes on special teams. They gave up a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown and fumbled three kickoffs, losing one. The extra point attempt after Williams' touchdown was also blocked.
Jets need a complete overhaul from roster to front office
Should an improvement on Ulbrich become available, it wouldn't be enough to just let go of Rodgers and hire a new head coach. General manager Joe Douglas was let go last week, opening the door for interim GM Phil Savage.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport gave a possible excuse for Rodgers' poor play.
“The hamstring injury Rodgers suffered against the Broncos on Sept. 29 was believed to be a particularly significant one, but he assured everyone it was fine. Asked about it, a source said, he would simply say, ‘I'm playing,'” Rapoport reported. “That could also be one reason why Rodgers' play has been subpar based on his standards.”
Of course, all of this runs deeper than one quarterback. The Jets' struggles are not isolated to the last one or two seasons but stretch back for decades.
One rumored option for head coach and general manager are actually from the Seahawks, per SNY's Connor Hughes. He suggested Seattle's assistant GM Nolan Teasley to become the Jets' GM and the Seahawks' old head coach, Pete Carroll, to take over for Ulbrich.
“I don’t know if there is a more stable organization out there right now than Seattle,” Hughes said. “It seems like every year they are some variation of good.”
For the foreseeable future, though, the Jets will be in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
