Well, it's only getting worse. The New York Jets lost yet another game on Sunday, as they were defeated by the New England Patriots 16-23.
Once again the Jets defense was unable to stop the opponent's rushing attack, allowing New England to gain 147 yards on the ground. SS Sam Garnes and LB Sam Cowart dropped two sure interceptions that could have changed the momentum. Although the Gang Green recorded four sacks, Patriots' QB Tom Brady had at times all day to throw the football, easily finding his open receivers.
The offense did not do much better. QB Vinny Testarverde completed 25 of his 43 passes for a total of 264 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception. The interception was a really costly one, as rookie CB Asante Samuel returned it for a touchdown. Don't start blaming Testaverde for this loss though. The rest of the Jets offense struggled for the most part of this game. WR Curtis Conway, who was supposed to replace departured Laveranues Coles, dropped 3 passes, one of them being a sure touchdown. WR Wayne Chrebet was wide open inside the Patriots' 10 when Testaverde hit him with a perfect pass, but Chrebet had stepped out of bounds and the play was nullified. Running game? Do the Jets have a running game? Well, the Jets gained more yards on the ground today than they did in the previous two games but it was still only 65 yards (Patriots RB Kevin Faulk had 79). What makes this statistic even worse is that the Patriots were without their two starting linebackers, and their best run-stopping DT left the game in the 1st quarter.
Next Sunday the Jets will face their former head coach Bill Parcells and his Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have a pretty good young secondary, so the Jets will desperately need their running game. Can the running attack be fixed in one week, considering that it hasn't improved at all during the first three weeks of the season? Possible, but doubtful...