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Jets have no answers after Zach Wilson’s benching, a tunnel dust and a tough Bills loss

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The noise in the tunnel was loud, but the locker room was quiet. As Robert Saleh and Zach Wilson headed to the visitors’ locker room at the Buffalo Bills stadium, a commotion broke out behind them. New York Jets defensive end Micheal Clemons and Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins had to be separated, a cloud of dust transferred from the field to the tunnel as the two teams headed to the locker room, located in the same tunnel, directly across from each other, without much space in between.

It could have been worse, but several teammates helped hold Clemons down amid the commotion, and a coach tried to calm Clemons as he walked into the locker room. Inside, the mood was grim and words were scarce.

Saleh appeared to be on the verge of tears during his post-match press conference. When wide receiver Garrett Wilson spoke, it was barely above a whisper. Tight end Tyler Conklin admitted he’s running out of ways to explain the Jets’ mess. Usually it’s the same problems, week after week. But in this game, which the Jets lost 32-6, it was worse than it has been since last year. They were outmatched, outclassed and ridiculed off the field by players like Ed Oliver, who yelled at Jets players as they retreated to the locker room.

“What do you want me to say?” Conklin said after his team fell to 4-6. “If I had answers, or anyone had the answers, I don’t think it would happen this way.”

Maybe the answer will come with a quarterback change, but probably not. It’s hard to believe that Aaron Rodgers would actually still want to return after watching Sunday’s game. The Jets’ problems extend beyond the quarterback position, even if Zach Wilson has reached a point of no return — where the Jets could bench him again, and this time for good. When he was pulled for Tim Boyle with 2:17 to go in the third quarter, the Jets lost 29-6. Wilson had completed 7 of 15 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown – the Jets’ first offensive touchdown in 40 possessions – and a cheeky interception in the second quarter. He didn’t complete a single pass to a wide receiver.

Saleh has made a point of saying that Wilson wasn’t the problem, and that he would only bench him if it was clear he was the one stirring things up. He resolutely came back on the idea of ​​making a change simply to find the spark – and that’s exactly what he did on Sunday, when the match was already too far out of reach.

“I was just trying to see if we could get something going on the offensive side of the ball,” Saleh said.

Saleh would not say whether Wilson’s benching will carry over to Friday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, if Wilson, Boyle or Trevor Siemian take over. It may not matter, and it’s fair to wonder if that’s Saleh’s choice at all. The Jets have now reached a point with Wilson that if he is benched, the possibility of them moving on from him entirely – such as releasing him mid-season – shouldn’t be completely ruled out. If he is on the bench, it should be in a Jets uniform for him. Wilson does a problem, perhaps the biggest problem, but he is not the only problem. The Jets already had one of the NFL’s worst offenses last year and it has somehow gotten even worse with Nathaniel Hackett running the show as offensive coordinator.

It feels like the device has reached a point of no return and the stats are so pathetic that they’re hardly worth mentioning anymore. This week, Saleh said there would be some “personnel” and “scheme” changes to try to jump-start the offense. That included giving more playing time to young players such as undrafted rookie receivers Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson, young tight end Jeremy Ruckert and rookie running back Israel Abanikanda. The Jets also held a players-only meeting Tuesday, and Hackett moved from the sideline to the press box to call plays to, as Saleh said, “give him a different perspective, go up there and calm his world down.” to bring.”

None of it worked.

Brownlee played 19 snaps and was not targeted. Gipson fumbled the opening kickoff and had one catch for 7 yards. Ruckert had a nice catch from 18 yards, but otherwise his impact was not noticeable. Abanikanda barely featured in attack until late in the second half, when things were already out of reach. And the play-calling didn’t get any better either: the Jets went 0-for-11 on third down, further cementing this as the NFL’s worst third-down attack, and one of the worst in recent memory. history. The running game, which should have been the staple of this offense, has also fallen off a cliff: against the Bills, Breece Hall rushed for 23 yards on 10 carries after gaining 28 yards on 13 carries against the Las Vegas Raiders last week . Finally, Hackett made plans to give Hall the ball more in the passing game and it worked – five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown – but that was the only positive outcome of the changes this week.

It’s important to note that the Jets’ offensive line is in disarray. Chris Glaser (zero career starts) started at right guard. When Mekhi Becton left with an injury and did not return, he was replaced by rookie Carter Warren in his first career offensive snaps. The unit allowed a total of five sacks. But before Sunday, the Giants were the only offense that was worse than the Jets in most areas (namely scoring and pass blocking), and then they scored 31 points in a win over the Washington Commanders. Quarterback Tommy DeVito threw three touchdowns, something Wilson has never done.

“I don’t think anyone did anything today,” Saleh said. “Players, coaches, schemes, it clearly wasn’t good enough. None of it was good.”

The supporting cast around the quarterback doesn’t help much either. Wilson has had 19 of his passes dropped by his receivers this season, third-most among all quarterbacks. A few plays after Boyle checked in, Garrett Wilson lost another fumble.

“I’m trying to make a play, catch the ball and I decide to make a move on the linebacker without good ball security,” Wilson said. “That’s what happens in this league. This season I’m exposed for it and I have to fix it. I will.”

Garrett Wilson admitted the issues on offense and his lack of goals and catches on Sunday mean he has to make plays every time he gets the ball. That could also be a problem for some of his teammates.

“I have that feeling, and I feel like I’m playing worse when I do that,” Wilson said. “So I’m trying to fight human nature and maybe we should all feel that way and that comes along with the fight on offense. It’s hard, man, when you play like that and you feel like you have to. I have to take those bad plays off the field because I’m putting pressure.”

And finally, the Jets defense had its first really bad game of the season. It’s hard to attribute many of this team’s problems to them; at some point the straw would break the camel’s back. Saleh said a few weeks ago that the Jets had “dominated” the star quarterbacks they played this season, comments that certainly found their way into the Bills’ locker room. Josh Allen made him eat crow that Sunday, throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns in a get-right game for Buffalo, the same week that former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired.

“I give them credit, they dominated us,” cornerback DJ Reed said. “It’s painful to say.”


Robert Saleh must get his team ready to play again on Friday when they host the Dolphins. (Mark Konezny/USA Today)

But this is not the defense’s fault. If fingers are being pointed at anyone, it should start at the top of the organization, towards the key people running the show:

That’s general manager Joe Douglas for building an offense that suddenly feels lacking in talent outside of Hall and Garrett Wilson.

That is Saleh, who has struggled to steer the ship in the right direction. The Jets have turned into an undisciplined team prone to penalties and major mental mistakes.

That’s Hackett, whose offense has become predictable, boring and wildly unsuccessful — somehow less productive than many terrible Jets offenses of recent years.

And then there’s Zach Wilson.

He wasn’t supposed to play this year, remember. He was supposed to learn from Aaron Rodgers. Instead, he has started every game and become the face of the organization’s biggest problem: offense.

Wilson admitted he was “frustrated” about being benched (again) but understood why.

“If things aren’t getting done, something has to change and I understand that,” he said.

Boyle replaced him and completed 7 of 14 passes for 33 yards and an interception after not getting any first-team reps all week. He should do that this week, especially if he ends up replacing Wilson as the starter.

If that happens, Wilson’s tenure with the Jets will come to an end.

Early in the third quarter, Wilson scrambled to the sideline and charged toward Saleh. take him outa fitting image for the state the Jets are in as an organization.

At this rate, the Jets’ decision to work with Wilson this season might also eliminate Saleh in another way.

(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

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