You gotta hand it to the New York Jets. They’re never just bad, they’re always bad in a way that doesn’t seem entirely possible, and there’s something admirable about that.
The Jets came into Week 5 with an 0-4 record and, as our Matt Clapp put it, a very real chance to go 0-16 this season.
…don’t be surprised if the Jets become the first team since the 2017 Browns to go 0-16. Jets fans would certainly be quite fine with that because it would assure the opportunity to draft a generational prospect in Trevor Lawrence to play quarterback for whatever coach replaces Adam Gase (who may be fired by the time you read this).
Head coach Gase hasn’t lost his job yet, but if the early performance of the Jets offense is any indication, this could put things over the edge.
One the opening drive of the game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Jets went three-and-out, which isn’t out of the ordinary. But it’s notable that they got to 4th-and-1 on their own 34-yard-line. Because the next time NY got the ball back with a little over 10 minutes left in the first quarter, they also got down to a 4th and 1, this time on the 35-yard-line, and punted once more.
Per Pro Football Reference, that makes the Jets the first team in NFL history to punt twice on 4th and 1 in the first five minutes of a game.
The Jets are indeed the first team in our play-by-play database (complete to 1994) to punt twice on 4th and 1 in the first five minutes of a game https://t.co/8HinjvmbPT
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) October 11, 2020
This is rather mind-boggling:
The Jets are the first team to punt twice on 4th and 1 in the first five minutes of a game, per @pfref, whose database goes back to 1994.#jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) October 11, 2020
It’s also worth noting this may have happened before in the NFL but PFR only started tracking these stats in 1994.
It’s not entirely crazy that the Jets wouldn’t go for it from their own side of the field early in a game, but, like, what do they have to lose at this point? For what it’s worth, the Jets also punted again on 4th-and-1 in the second quarter, so…at least they’re sticking to a gameplan?
The J-E-T-S chant being played during a punt and delay of game seems fitting for the Jets
— Andrew Battifarano (@AndrewAtBatt) October 11, 2020
Anyway, congrats to the New York Jets on making history! And if you have to play for the Jets, you might as well be the punter where you know you’ll touch the ball a lot.
[PFR]
