Fans To Jets: We Quit Too

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

Early in the fourth quarter when the Bills were already thumping the visiting Jets, 33-0, Buffalo faced a 3^rd-and-14 from their own 31-yard line. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, getting a turn at some reps in relief of starter Josh Allen, was not looking to pile it on the Bills’ embarrassing AFC East rival that was minutes away from dropping to 4-12 on what was hyped to be a special season.

So Trubisky threw a quick screen pass to Tyrell Shavers, who entered the contest with zero career receptions. It was your standard give-up play.

Only it was the Jets who appeared to give up. Shavers broke through some half-hearted attempts at tackles and scooted 69 yards to paydirt to put an exclamation point on the 40-0 lead. Only cornerback D.J. Reed, who probably can’t wait to leave this horror show as a free agent after one more week, was seen sprinting in pursuit.

Don’t err in thinking that the Jets’ two late touchdown drives engineered by backup QB Tyrod Taylor to make the final score 40-14 was an indication that they played hard to the end; this team looked like they quit. They know the rules of football. To commit 16 penalties that cost them 120 yards, including five personal fouls (but not including the two penalties that were declined because there were multiple Jets fouls on those plays), is beyond disrespectful to the game.

“Quit” is a harsh word in pro sports lingo that can’t be confirmed when you’re sitting from a safe distance, though Reed wouldn’t dispute it when asked directly about the team’s effort after the game, Fellow cornerback Sauce Gardner wondered if “some people might be checked out.”. Still, I’ll continue to craft the accusation as the Jets appeared to quit on their teammates, their coaches, and, most importantly, their fans.

So now I’m quitting them, and I urge all my fellow Jets fans to do the same for next week’s season finale against Miami at MetLife Stadium. Make Sunday the lowest-rated NFL game of the season. If you have tickets, sell them to those annoying bandwagon Dolphins fans, who will be eager to pay since their team is still alive in the AFC’s race for the final Wild Card slot. The rest of us should use the Sunday as if it were a bye week. In lieu of watching, I’ll be heading to a show with my family; feel free to do something that gives you pleasure.

As opposed to the pain that comes from rooting for this team every season. Even when I’m hoping in my head that the Jets will lose out to maximize their 2025 Draft position, I was still seething through much of Sunday’s no-show. And it had nothing to do with measuring the performance against the lofty preseason expectations, which I was wise to not buy into. For this season, I refused to be teased again. Fool me 14 times…

I’m also not going to wax about where the disappointment of this campaign ranks in the Jets’ disgraceful lore. The list of debacles is too voluminous. The weight from looking back doesn’t do anyone any good.

That’s because we all know why this franchise has endured the longest playoff drought among all the teams in the four major sports leagues. The stink reeks from the top. And, unfortunately, Woody Johnson ain’t going anywhere, apparently not even to a position in the upcoming Donald Trump administration, never mind selling the team.

This organization makes the same mistakes from one generation to the next when it comes to putting together a football operation. It’s one thing for Johnson not to know anything about the game; it’s worse that he thinks he does. Then again, Johnson said earlier this season that thinking is overrated. Are you still wondering why there’s been so many wrongheaded decisions?

All we can do, then, is hope that the team gets lucky in the upcoming search for a new General Manager, Head Coach, and quarterback this time. Picking the right people for those positions is the key to building a sustainable winning program.

Do I have faith that they’ll get it right? Absolutely not. I can envision Johnson tabbing his football guys on the cheap and listening to the wrong people as to whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers should be brought back (Note: He shouldn’t.).

But I’ll give the new guys a chance, just like we all did with Joe Douglas, Robert Saleh, Rodgers, Zach Wilson, Mike Maccagnan, Sam Darnold, Adam Gase, Todd Bowles, etc., etc., etc.

This final week, however, join me in avoiding the Jets like the plague they’ve become on our well-being. We quit too.