Jets know it’s time to 'grow up' after self-inflicted wounds prove costly again in loss to Raiders
The Jets’ offensive rut continued in Sunday’s frustrating 16-12 loss to the Chargers.
Their defense continued to play like one of the top units in football and kept them in the game, but their offense yet again let them down and couldn’t take advantage of some golden opportunities.
Despite reaching Las Vegas territory on five different drives, three of which came in the first half, New York was forced to settle for just four Greg Zuerlein field goals on the night.
Each time quarterback Zach Wilson and the Jets seemed to be settling into a groove, they’d find a way to get set back, committing a total of eight penalties on the night while mixing in a handful of costly drops.
It’s become a story that Robert Saleh is all too familiar with.
“Same as the last couple of weeks,” the head coach said postgame. “Just self-inflicted wounds. We have to figure out how to stop shooting ourselves in the foot when we get those opportunities.”
The Jets have now been held out of the end zone since the first quarter of their Week 8 overtime win over the Giants, and frustration is certainly beginning to boil over in the locker room.
“It literally feels like every single big play and every good play we have is getting called back,” Wilson said. “We were moving the ball well, they weren’t really stopping us, we were stopping ourselves. Just gotta be better.”
“I’m tired of this,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson added. “I want to play better, the offense wants to play better, that’s what we’re trying to do. We come out every week trying to make it happen, it’s frustrating.”
Gang Green now sits at 4-5 and has a ton of work to do to get back into the playoff picture, starting next weekend with a huge divisional matchup on the road against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
While they're still without answers to their offensive problems, Saleh’s squad knows they need to turn things around right now.
“We’ve got to figure it out,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “There’s nothing else to say about it. We can’t keep can’t keep going out here and doing this over and over again and letting the defense and the team down.”
“It’s time to grow up,” linebacker C.J. Mosley added. “We got some tough games coming, we’re not out of the playoffs yet, I haven’t seen nothing say we got eliminated. Have a short memory, let’s get back to work.”
