Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett did not hold back when asked about what he saw from the offense during the bye week when he examined the first six games.
“We sucked in the red zone, and we sucked on third down,” Hackett said.
It’s hard to argue with him. The Jets have been awful when it has come to situational football.
They are the worst team in the NFL in both red-zone touchdown percentage (29.4 percent) and third-down conversion percentage (25).
“I think the biggest one has been the self-inflicted wounds,” Hackett said. “And it’s not just one person. Everyone takes turns. For us, we have to settle down, and everybody’s got to do their job, and I think that was the biggest one. It starts with me doing my job, and then having all those guys be able to do those little things, and then those things will slowly come. There have been a lot of opportunities for us, and we just have to capitalize on them.”
The Jets have won their past two games in spite of how they have done in these situations.
In the win over the Broncos, the Jets were 0-for-5 in the red zone and 3-of-12 on third down.
In the win over the Eagles, they were 1-for-4 in the red zone and 2-of-11 on third down.
Quarterback Zach Wilson said a big focus of his bye-week work was on these situations.
“Obviously, a big emphasis on situational football and the third downs and the red-zone stuff,” Wilson said. “As a quarterback, you pride yourself on those, especially the manageable ones because when you start to get over third-and-8, it’s tough because you don’t want to lose the game on third-and-8. You definitely can by trying to force something, so it is really the third-and-manageable. Where did I have something easy? Where did I have an opportunity to get somewhere else that could have helped us convert on that to keep the chains going here. That was a big part of my bye-week process.”
One of the most disappointing Jets this season has been veteran WR Randall Cobb.
He has just three catches for 20 yards in the first six games and has had some big drops.
Despite his slow start, wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said he still believes in Cobb.
“He came back from the bye and he was disappointed in how he played,” Azzanni said. “He said, ‘I thought about it all break. It’s eating me alive.’ It just shows you right there his mentality. He’s been nothing but great, working his tail off, trying to get back. He’ll be fine. I’m not worried about Randall.”
The Jets elevated WR Malik Taylor and OL Xavier Newman from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.