6 trends the Jets must reverse to remain in playoff contention for 2023 NFL season

The Jets' 27-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football had a familiar feel to it.

Although it was only the second time all season that the Jets were soundly beaten, the reasons for the defeat were mostly issues that have blighted the team since the season began.

These are the six trends that the Jets must reverse to remain in postseason contention:

Injures, especially on the offensive line

There's no denying that the Jets have once again been snakebitten by injuries in 2023, not that there's much they can do about it. During the offseason, Joe Douglas was extra vigilant in terms of adding established contributors to every position group so that the team would be well equipped to cope with any injuries and targeted players with a history of being durable and available.

Unfortunately for the Jets, injuries have tended to arise at the worst possible times and in the most impactful positions. In particular, they've been stretched to their limits on the offensive line with the tackle position in flux at the start of the year and depth at the center position weakened in recent weeks.

On Monday night, the Jets gave up a season-high eight sacks and then discovered after the game that Billy Turner had suffered a hand injury which should cause him to miss time. While Turner was perhaps their weakest starter on Monday, and likely would have headed back to the bench once Duane Brown was healthy, his loss would mean there's one less experienced and versatile option available to the team in the event of further injuries.

Slows starts on offense

The Jets have been desperate to get off to a good start every week this season, but it simply hasn't happened as they have fallen behind by double digits early in almost every game. On all eight of their opening drives, they've been forced to punt, going three and out on most of them as they simply haven't had any success executing the scripted part of Nathaniel Hackett's game plans.

These slow starts don't just affect their first drives, though. The Jets have only scored one touchdown in the first quarter all season, when Breece Hall took Zach Wilson's dump-off pass to the house for a 50-yard touchdown against the Giants. This issue extends back to last year, too, as they only had two first-quarter touchdowns all season -- one on another big play by Hall in Denver and the other on a Mike White drive against the Chicago Bears.

Strangely, it was less of an issue in Wilson's rookie year. The Jets scored eight first-quarter touchdowns, including five with Wilson at the helm, in 2022.

Red-zone failings

The Jets currently sit last in the NFL in terms of red-zone-touchdown percentage. Things have been going from bad to worse in that category for them, as they are just 1 for 13 over the past four games. In addition, the only touchdown was Hall's 7-yard run Oct. 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, where the defense actually let him score so that they had time left on the clock for a potential comeback.

This is an area where the team is even worse than last season, with its touchdown percentage dropping from 43.4 to 23.8. Despite being almost 20 percentage points higher, the Jets were still the second-worst unit in this department last year.

Against the Chargers, the Jets only reached the red zone once. A short run and consecutive sacks later, they were backed up at the 28 and forced to settled for a field goal.

Third-down woes

This is an extension of the above issue, highlighting Wilson's inability to get the yards he needs in crucial situations. The Jets again rank last in the NFL in terms of third-down-conversion percentage at 22.1.

As was the case with the red-zone numbers, the Jets were also bad last year -- but not this bad. They were the fifth-worst team in the league, in terms of third-down percentage, at 34.6.

Again, this is a number that seems to be trending downwards in their past two games with the Jets going 2 for 15 Oct. 29 against the Giants and 3 for 17 against the Chargers. Bizarrely, the Jets are 6 for 10 on fourth down, although many of these plays came in garbage time.

Defensive lapses

The Jets' defense has been outstanding this season, keeping the team in games against some of the best offenses in the NFL. Nevertheless, the unit always seems to have a letdown at some point in the game -- often, early on.

The Chargers game was actually the first time all year that the Jets didn't give up at least one drive of 75 yards or more, but they did have one drive where a series of missed tackles led to the Chargers' second touchdown and another where they couldn't get off the field and allowed Los Angeles to bleed eight minutes off the clock late in the second half. There was, of course, also a special teams lapse that led to a costly touchdown.

It's a lot to ask for the defense to put together a perfect game, even when the opponent is a weak offensive team. However, with the offense struggling so much, they have to remain focused otherwise the team's margin of error can reduce significantly.

Penalties

The Jets were actually one of the least-penalized teams in the league early in the season, but that trend has reversed in recent weeks.

It's the nature and timing of the penalties rather than the quantity that has been the issue, though. They've often come on third down, preventing the Jets from getting off the field, or been avoidable moments of petulance or immaturity.

The Jets gifted Los Angeles three first downs via penalty, after giving five to the Giants in their previous game.