Originally posted by captveg:
Winner: Robert Saleh
Saleh got out at the right time. The Jets have lost five in a row after letting New England's Jacoby Brissett lead a game-winning drive capped off by a fourth-and-goal run from the 1-yard line with just seconds remaining. Three of those losses have come after Saleh's abrupt firing in early October, a move that owner Woody Johnson believed would provide a spark to what had been a 2-3 team at the time. That spark has burst into a full-on dumpster fire, and what had been a good Jets defense under Saleh's watch has surrendered 62 points to Russell Wilson and Brissett over the past two weeks.
The efficiency numbers from Sunday's game suggest the Jets were the better team. They outgained New England by 2 yards per play and had a higher expected points added average, success rate, and explosive play rate. Aaron Rodgers looked as good as he has since his last MVP season in 2021. He connected on a handful of downfield passes, and a few of them came off-platform. This was the passing game the Jets were hoping to see at the start of the season.
Firing Saleh hasn't worked, but demoting Nathaniel Hackett from play calling duties and elevating Todd Downing has improved the offense over the past few weeks. The Jets have the third-best explosive play rate leaguewide since the change, and Downing has leaned into his quarterback's preferences to make that happen. New York has done away with its under-center offense almost completely. Its shotgun rate stands at 92 percent over the past three weeks, which leads the NFL, per TruMedia.
Non-scrimmage plays ultimately led to the loss for the Jets on Sunday. Greg Zuerlein missed an extra point and a 44-yard field goal. New York took a delay of game before a two-point conversion attempt that would have extended the lead to seven ahead of New England's game-winning drive. And interim coach Jeff Ulbrich settled for a 29-yard field goal on fourth-and-less-than-a-yard in the third quarter. The Jets left a good chunk of points on the field in a game decided by just two.
The offense is starting to show signs of life after one of its most complete performances of the season, but that makes this loss all the more frustrating. The Jets are closer to the first pick than they are to a wild-card spot. At 2-6, their playoff probability has plummeted to 12 percent, according to The Athletic's prediction model. The concern about the offense has been replaced by concern about the defense. And this losing streak has Rodgers talking like a Batman villain.
We still have 10 more weeks of this to go, but after firing the coach, trading for Davante Adams, and convincing Haason Reddick to finally show up, the Jets have run out of new cards to play. Mathematically, New York is still alive in the playoff race, but it's never been more over.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2024/10/28/24281495/nfl-week-8-winners-losers-matt-eberflus-scott-hanson-dan-campbell
TLDR: Maybe if they kept Saleh and demoted Hackett like Saleh wanted they'd have kept the better defense and improved the offense.
They have a trash owner
He was the ambassador to the UK from 2017-2021 and embarrassed in front of his friends by the international game.
He basically had a temper tantrum and fired Saleh to save face.
Now he gets to enjoy the consequences of his actions.