The New York Jets are still coming to grips with not having four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at the helm of the offense this season, and possibly never as he recovers from a torn Achilles suffered just four plays into the season. The team was able to defeat the division rival Buffalo Bills opening night, but it fell flat on its face in a 30-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The game was actually a lot closer than the final score would indicate, but that doesn’t tell the half of how Cowboys defensive stalwart Micah Parsons wrecked the game.
In an effort to protect third-year QB and 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson in last Sunday’s game, Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett devised a game plan of quick passes. That didn’t stop Parsons, who’s finished runner-up DPOY voting in both of his NFL seasons. The former Penn State Nittany Lions standout finished with quarterback hits and two sacks. He also recovered a fumble by running back Dalvin Cook that sort of helped open the floodgates for the Cowboys offense.
Hackett Inexplicably Says They Underestimated Parsons Speed
Speaking with the media on Thursday, Hackett for some strange reason says they didn’t believe Parsons was as fast as he was on Sunday.
“They do a great job because you never know exactly where he’s going to be,” Hackett said. “We had a lot of different hands we wanted to put on him. As the game got out of hand and you get into more passing situations, you need to get more guys out [in routes] at times and try to get some easy, quick completions.
“We even underestimated his speed on the quick game. He is spectacular, and somebody you have to look back and say. ‘Can you even do that? We looked back at the tape, corrected it and saw how we can help ourselves out.”
How do you underestimate anything as it pertains to a guy like Parsons, who in two seasons has become one of the league’s top defensive players. That’s inexplicable and unacceptable from a team standpoint.
Parsons Aside, Jets Need To Sustain Drives
In Sunday’s loss the Jets offense completely bogged down, only having four of their 11 possessions actually gain at least one first down. The other seven drives were three-and-outs, not exactly a recipe for success. The lack of being of able to sustain drives has also made it hard for the team’s dynamic playmakers to have an effect on the outcome. Last week star running back Breece Hall, who’s fresh off a 10-carry and 127-yard rushing performance against the Bills, had only four touches versus the Cowboys.
Hackett addressed that in his presser.
“Everybody’s workload was very low this past week,” Hackett said. “We just didn’t have a lot of plays [46], and that hurts us because we can’t get a lot of people involved. There were a lot of people that we wanted to get featured and going early, but if you don’t convert on third down — especially those third-and-manageables — you are not going to have those opportunities.”
A lot of the Jets problems stem from Wilson just not being very good, and the offense having to completely change with Rodgers not at the helm. If something doesn’t change soon the season will be for naught because of an inept offense that couldn’t keep the defense fresh.
