After Loss To Jets, Maybe Payton Should Do The Opposite Next Time
When Denver Head Coach Sean Payton stuck his nose in the Jets’ business during the offseason, stating that current Gang Green Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s performance as the Broncos head coach last season was “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL”, my initial reaction was that this guy is absolutely ignorant when it comes to history, especially Jets history.
Worst in history? Really? Has Payton ever heard of Rich Kotite, to name a random ex-Jets coach?
In the end, Hackett and the Jets got the last laugh, punctuated by a postgame trolling of Payton by the club’s social media team, on their must-win Sunday when New York left Mile High Stadium with a 31-21 victory.
For a half, Robert Saleh seemed on the verge of joining the ignominious list of Jets head coaches who had fans screaming for his bald head. For a fifth straight game, New York (2-3) looked ill-prepared at the onset. At the two-minute warning, Denver, with its pathetic defense that had surrendered an average of 37.5 points per game coming in, was outgaining the Jets, 183-87, in taking a 13-8 lead.
Denver scored on three of its four first-half possessions, with the other ending on the first play with a Jets safety for a second consecutive week when quarterback Russell Wilson was called for intentional grounding in the zone as he was about to be taken down by defensive tackle Al Woods. Besides committing five defensive penalties, New York was gashed by screens, traps, and Wilson’s legs. All signs of possible coaching negligence. The Jets’ pass rushers allowed Wilson to routinely escape the pocket through ill-advised designs like stunting their edge rushers inside—and then failing to monitor Denver’s mobile quarterback with a spy.
On offense, the Jets threw it once on a first down (not counting a Zach Wilson scramble) on five possessions, a reversion of what was successful the prior week against Kansas City. All New York could muster was one Greg Zuerlein field goal off a muff by Denver punt returner Marvin Mims Jr. that set them up at the 20-yard line and another following a lengthy drive that was all runs.
What happened at the end of the first half was the type of gaffe that gets coaches fired—Saleh used his final timeout with 19 seconds remaining, trusting Wilson to understand clock management with the Jets already in position to have Zuerlein kick another field goal. After a good sideline pass to wide receiver Allen Lazard got the ball to the 13-yard line, Wilson inexplicably checked down to tight end C.J. Uzomah in the field of play where he could neither score nor get out of bounds. After Uzomah was tackled, Wilson didn’t hustle enough to even get a chance to spike the ball before the gun sounded. Every Jets fan smacked their forehead in disgust.
Lo and behold, though, Saleh and his staff made some necessary adjustments, and it was Payton’s turn to play the fool in the second half. (Nice job, by the way, testing the Jets’ diminished secondary that included practice squad call-up Craig James when star cornerback Sauce Gardner was forced to temporarily exit with an injury—that razzle-dazzle trickery only tricked his own running back Samaje Perine, who fumbled it back to New York.)
New York’s defense finally figured out how to keep Russell Wilson in check, sacking him four times in the second half. The final two takedowns came courtesy of linebacker Quincy Williams, who is off to a fantastic start this season, after the Broncos got within 24-21 and had possession with 2:14 remaining. Wilson coughed the last one up and Jets cornerback Bryce Hall, playing in place of concussed starter D.J. Reed, scooped up the loose ball along the right sideline and scampered 39 yards to close the deal.
Hall and James weren’t the only Jets whom Saleh was forced to plug-and-play—tackles Billy Turner and Max Mitchell looked ready to replace, respectively, Mekhi Becton, who needed to sit out a few snaps when his right knee injury flared up, and Alijah Vera-Tucker, who was felled by a calf injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. In his postgame comments, Saleh expressed concern about the seriousness of Vera-Tucker’s situation, which sucks since the versatile lineman saw his 2022 campaign also end in Denver with a triceps tear.
For a nice change, the Jets weren’t exposed when calling on their reserves. In fact, before reviewing the tape and the stats, it appeared the offensive line performed better as the game wore on, with running back Breece Hall taking New York’s first snap of the half up the middle through a massive hole 72 yards to paydirt without getting touched.
Of course, Hackett couldn’t escape without earning some deserved criticism. New York entered the red zone five times and could not breach the goal line even once. I don’t recall if Zach Wilson ever bothered to throw the ball into the end zone. When the Jets were playing with the lead (for the first time all season—now only the Giants retain that dubious distinction) and got in field goal range, the ultra-conservative Hackett seemed to take on a very different version of the old Herm Edwards quote: You. Play. To…Not Let Zach Wilson Lose The Game.
The not-let-Wilson-pass-unless-it’s-third-down strategy nearly backfired when he was picked by Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain at the 3-yard line with 2:14 remaining. But after Denver moved the ball to their own 41-yard line in the ensuing 1:29, Payton’s play call didn’t account for the Williams blitz off the edge and it was over.
Outcoached by Saleh. Now THAT has to feel historic. Maybe do the opposite next time, Sean.
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