Well after 6 straight weeks and 6 straight losses for the Jets the season is finally over. It's hard to believe that this team was once 7-4 and was just a goal line score away from being 8-4 in Minnesota. The offense was absolutely abysmal the last couple weeks and did not deserve to come anywhere near the playoffs as the season wrapped up.
Looking back at my predictions for the AFC East before the season began, I was correct that the Jets would wind up going 7-10. Ever since Breece Hall and Alijah Vera-Tucker went down, this team's morale completely shifted and wins were a luxury to come by all of a sudden.
You could blame a lot of things for how the Jets downfall occurred. You can blame the quarterback room, which in my opinion was the problem, you can blame the coaching staff, you can blame the injuries, and even in some games the officiating. There were just too many negatives adding up for the Jets to have a positive outcome at the end of the season.
All in all, the problem was the quarterback room. Consistent bad quarterback play from all three quarterbacks who had starting roles and just the rotation of not having a consistent #1 quarterback really hurt the team offensively.
If you look at the top ten quarterbacks with the most passing yards, nine of those ten made the playoffs and one was eliminated in the last week of the regular season. It is definitely true that you have to have good quarterback play to advance and win games in the National Football League. The Jets won some, but without the stellar defense it would've been ugly.
No consistent quarterback meant that the offense would struggle as well and boy they did. Failing to score a single touchdown in the last three games of the regular season is absolutely pathetic and two of those games, the Jets still had a shot at the playoffs. This is definitely obvious now but the Jets starting quarterback for the 2023 season is not on the roster right now.
Some bright spots on the season was the rookie class and there is a lot to look forward to there. I believe that the Jets have both the offensive and defensive rookie of the year winners in Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson on the team. Maybe if Breece Hall stayed healthy he would've been in consideration for that award also. On the defensive end with Jermaine Johnson and Michael Clemons the rookie class looks even better.
The defense absolutely balled out all season and really did not have a bad performance since the first couple weeks of the season. The Jets defense was the only defense in the league to not allow a quarterback to throw over 300 passing yards in a game against them. That is some lockdown defense right there and if you bring the Williams brothers back and the rest of the squad back next year, it's only going to get even better.
Look, at the end of the day the Jets took a huge leap from last year to this year after having just 4 wins last year, to getting 7 this year and being in the midst of the playoff conversation almost all year. This is progress, but as a Jet fan obviously patience is running thin because playoffs have been out of the question for the Jets in the last 12 years.
The Jets need to go into the offseason on the hunt for a franchise quarterback and some offensive line help. With these two things, in my eyes the Jets are a complete team. Good quarterback play does not happen when your offensive line does not help your quarterback out. I have faith in the direction that this franchise is headed, but it was not the end I was hoping for this season as a Jets fan.
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