When Todd Downing took over play-calling duties earlier than the Jets’ Week 6 recreation in opposition to the Payments, he was tasked with determining the options to offensive woes that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett couldn’t repair.
They’d Aaron Rodgers. They’d different stars in Breece Corridor and Garrett Wilson.
They even assembled a revamped offensive line, too.
However with Gang Gang’s offense set to play its eighth recreation below Downing on Sunday, the underwhelming outcomes have remained underwhelming, and Downing, who beforehand known as performs with the Titans, described it as “very disappointing” — as a result of he is aware of interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich promoted him to make it higher.
The Jets are averaging the second-fewest yards per recreation within the NFL (291.3) this season, forward of simply the Patriots.
They averaged 18.6 factors per recreation below Hackett, and that quantity has risen simply tenths to 18.9 below Downing.
“It’s troublesome to really feel such as you have been requested to assist in a scenario or see if you can also make an influence when the change occurred,” Downing mentioned, “and thus far, we haven’t had higher outcomes.”
There have been moments — such because the 21-point second half Oct. 31 in the course of the Jets’ win over the Texans — when the Jets’ offense operated because it was anticipated to below Rodgers and with Downing in cost. They even added wideout Davante Adams to the unit in October, too.
However in different situations, the offense has gone lacking once more.
Gang Inexperienced managed simply six factors throughout an embarrassing loss to the Cardinals on Nov. 10, and after two landing drives within the opening body Sunday in opposition to the Seahawks, they didn’t handle one other one the remainder of the sport.
“We’ve proven who we might be as an offense in small stretches,” Downing mentioned, “however sadly that’s fizzled out like a bottle rocket, and we have to discover a method to maintain and have consistency.”
Hackett echoed the same sentiment all of final season after Rodgers’ season-ending torn Achilles.
It carried over into the primary 5 weeks of 2024 with Rodgers again, too.
And even below Downing, that hasn’t modified — and the struggles haven’t light.
Particular groups coordinator Brant Boyer mentioned Kene Nwangwu’s 99-yard kickoff return for a landing Sunday didn’t shock him in any respect.
Nwangwu, a 26-year-old operating again who has spent the season on the apply squad after signing in September, earned the AFC’s Particular Groups Participant of the Week nod Tuesday.
“He wasn’t over there sulking about his lack of play time,” Boyer mentioned, whereas acknowledging he advised his gamers it’s a “actually good lesson” for anybody. “He wasn’t sulking about not being on the lively roster. He was working his butt off, after which once you get your alternative, you profit from it, and he actually did.”
RB Corridor (knee), CB Sauce Gardner (hamstring), OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), OL John Simpson (sickness) and LB C.J. Mosley (neck) didn’t apply Thursday, whereas OL Morgan Moses (knee/shoulder), OL Olu Fashanu (toe) and CB Qwan’tez Stiggers (sickness) have been restricted members.
OL Wes Schweitzer (finger) and WR Allen Lazard (chest) have been full members for a second consecutive day.
Boyer mentioned he’d by no means seen a gunner get triple-teamed earlier than — because the Seahawks tried to comprise wideout Irv Charles at one level Sunday — and nonetheless make the sort out. “If you will discover me a greater particular teamer on this league,” Boyer mentioned, “I’d prefer to see it.”
