The Jets had very high expectations coming into the 2024 season.
After Aaron Rodgers‘ return from his season-ending Achilles tear four plays into last season, many thought the Jets were poised to challenge the Chiefs for a trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
Those dreams unofficially ended on Sunday after the Jets’ latest 28-27 loss to the Colts. After their seventh loss in eight games, the Jets are 3-8 and would need to run the table to even have a chance to make the playoffs at this point.
The Jets season probably officially ended the moment owner Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh and made defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim coach for the rest of the season. Johnson told reporters after he fired Saleh that this was the most talented team he had during his 25 seasons as owner.
However, the Jets haven’t played anywhere close to one of the best teams in the league. Outside of a dominant victory against the Patriots on Sept. 19, the Jets have not played complimentary football this season.
That continued to be the case against a Colts team that reinserted Anthony Richardson under center for the first time in two weeks after he was benched for Joe Flacco. Richardson, who completed 44% of his passes in six games before Sunday, looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback against a Jets defense that came into the game ranking in the top 10 in total defense. He completed 20-of-30 passes for 272 yards and registered three touchdowns, including the game-winning four-yard run with 51 seconds remaining.
This was after the Colts offense went 70 yards in six plays and took just 1:55 off the clock. Ulbrich put his faith in the Jets’ defense with 2:44 remaining after he elected to send Anders Carlson out to make a 35-yard field goal on a 4th and 2 play on the Colts’ 17-yard line. Although the Jets took a 27-22 lead at the time, it ultimately came back to bite them.
Ulbrich has been playing dual roles, serving both as the Jets’ defensive coordinator and head coach, and even the players have noticed the change in play defensively.
“The last couple of games, we haven’t played to our standard on defense,” Jets cornerback D.J. Reed said. “We’ve given up touchdowns, we are giving up explosive plays.
“I can’t really account to what it is. Coach Ulbrich has a lot on his plate, but he’s a grown man and he can handle it. It just comes down to executing and playing our role.”
Since Saleh’s firing, the Jets are 1-5, and their defense is allowing 26.1 points per game in those contests.
“We need to be better,” Ulbrich said. “We need to be better.
“This bye week will allow me an opportunity to really take a hard look at myself and take a hard look at everything that we are doing. Not just defensively but everything.”
“True strength is demonstrated in these moments where adversity hits and it is hitting us from a football perspective. This is probably one of the higher levels of adversity that we’ve faced. It’s an opportunity to not let your situation define who you are and show the world who you really are in these tough moments.”
It isn’t just the defense that has struggled since Saleh’s firing, but offensively, the Jets have been stuck in the mud at times and continue to start games slowly. After Saleh was fired, Ulbrich changed offensive play-callers, going from Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing, but the losses continue to pile up.
At halftime, Rodgers had completed only 7-of-16 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. He finished the game 22-of-29 for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
However, Rodgers isn’t the same player he was with the Packers prior to the trade to the Jets, post-Achilles injury. His pinpoint accuracy has declined, and he cannot move around the pocket, which was evident when he was sacked by Kwity Paye twice on the Jets’ final drive, including on a 3rd and 7 play, which ended the game after the Jets had zero timeouts remaining.
Earlier this week, Rodgers said he wanted to return to the Jets for his 21st season, but at this point, it may be wise for the team to move on.
Rodgers, 40, is under contract for $23.5 million next season, but he has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract. However, if the Jets decide to move on, they would have a $49 million dead cap hit next season.
The Jets will almost certainly have a new coach next season and likely a new general manager with Joe Douglas in the final months of a six-year contract he signed in 2019. With Rodgers about to turn 41 on Dec. 2, the new regime could decide it’s best to bring in a younger quarterback for a possible rebuild.
“We’ve been really hard trying to figure out what the issues are,” a dejected Rodgers said after the game. “It is just not one person. Sometimes it’s me, sometimes it is somebody else, but I felt good about the two-minute drive we had.
“We got a turnover and the momentum was going and the crowd was getting into it, but unfortunately, we didn’t score enough points.”
Without a playoff carrot dangling in front of the Jets, they will have six games to try and end the season on a positive note. In 2022, the Jets played meaningful football in December before losing six straight ended their playoff hopes. Last year, Gang Green didn’t get officially eliminated from postseason contention until Dec. 15 after a 30-0 loss to the Dolphins.
Although not officially eliminated, the Jets’ playoff chances are up in smoke before Thanksgiving. A team with big names such as Rodgers, Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson, Haason Reddick, and Breece Hall, it is unimaginable that the Jets would have just three wins in 11 games.
With all the expectations of this team, the 2024 Jets will go down with the 2000 Washington team and the 2011 “Dream Team” Eagles team in terms of teams that failed to live up to the offseason hype and expectations.
“It is very hard to fathom,” Reed said about the season. “I’m still processing it right now, I’m still processing that last drive.
“If we win that game and it is an AFC team that we beat, the percentages are way higher. It is unfortunate. It is definitely hard to fathom, but we have the right character guys in this locker room to lock arms and get a win after the bye week.”
