Honest Review #2.11: A Play Away

There seems to be a general consensus around the National Football League that Austin Seferian-Jenkins does not know how to catch a football. Due to that, the Jets now have two losses on their schedule that could have easily been wins.

Week 6 against the Patriots Seferian-Jenkins was a part of one of the most controversial calls in NFL history and today adds another highlight in the “is that a catch?” vault. This time it came at the start of the 4th quarter on the one-yard-line. Josh McCown threw a fade route to Seferian-Jenkins, which was “caught” and brought to the ground. It was called incomplete due to slight movement that occurred when Seferian-Jenkins was on the ground after he had made the catch and was downed in the endzone. Seferian-Jenkins never lost control of the pass or drop the ball at any point during going to the ground, yet after the played was reviewed the officials called it back. Two plays Chandler Catanzaro would knock home his second field goal of the game making the score 20-18.

After forcing Carolina to punt, Josh McCown (in typical Jet-fashion) fumbled the ball, which would result in a 34-yard scoop and score by Luke Keuchly, thus changing the entire complexion for gang green. Instead of adding to a two-point lead, the Jets would fall behind by six and unravel in front of Jet fans eyes.

It wasn’t all just on Austin Seferian-Jenkins however… the Jets special team unit would fail them giving up a 64-yard punt return the series after Keuchly’s run back, and the Jets would doom themselves with two huge penalties. A defensive offsides penalty from Jordan Jenkins that lead to a Jonathan Stewart that gave Carolina the lead back [18-17] than a roughing the passer penalty by Mike Pennel took away a 4th down situation that would have given the Jets the ball back north of the two-minute warning and would’ve gave Josh McCown a chance to win the ball game. It also doesn’t help that the Jets don’t have a return man because JoJo Natson cost the Jets multiple times in the return game.

The Jets played better than the Panthers for majority of the game and like the entire season before it couldn’t finish the deal in the 4th quarter. The main reason that the Jets are 4-7 through the first 12 weeks of the season is because they are a 45-minute team. In other words, the Jets don’t seem to show up for the 4th quarter. The Jets play well through three quarters and just don’t have the conditioning, mental fortitude, or collective discipline to finish football games. The Jets had a better 3rd down percentage than the Panthers [35% for the Jets compared to 21% for Carolina], had few penalties for less yardage [7-68 yards for the Jets; 10-84 yards for the Panthers], yet lost the game. The Jets defensive played well, the offense complemented the defense with timely scores, yet a bad day on special teams and two penalties are the difference.

This type of season brings me back a season like 2014. I thought the Jets where a good football team that year that was “just a play away” from being a good team. Those 2014-15 Jets would finish 4-12 and get the 6th pick in the 2015 draft. The next year, thanks to a change in the front office, a few signings, and trades the Jets would go 10-6 the following year. I’m not saying that next year’s Jets team will threaten to make the playoffs, but I am saying that this team seems like they are “a play away.” Whether it is that Austin Seferian-Jenkins play against the Patriots, or Josh McCown interception against the Dolphins, Catanzaro’s missed field goal against the Falcons, or just the lack of offense against the Buccaneers the Jets have been a play away in every loss except the first two losses of the season against Buffalo and the Raiders.


Looking at Kansas City next week, the future looks bright as KC has fallen in its last three games, but looking at a players like Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or possibly Sam Darnold—losing next week against the Chiefs looks like a win in the long run. I know the Jets won’t play to lose, but if they fall short against a talent Kansas City team that is just caught in a weird tailspin, it won’t be the worst thing in the world. The tank should be back on and the message remains the same after another tough lost: Let’s go J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!       

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