The 1 problem that is holding the Jets offense back from its full potential

The big storyline from the New York Jets dropping to 2-6 was the defense. The Jets allowed 38 points at home to the Las Vegas Raiders in their latest embarrassing defensive effort.

The defense and coaching have taken the brunt of the blame for this loss. However, there’s an area of this football team that is holding them back, and that’s the red zone offense. I know, it seems really unnecessary to talk about the offense on a day when they gain 439 yards of offense and score 33 points.

That should be enough to win a game, absolutely. There’s just one issue with this offense: they don’t score touchdowns.

Red zone efficiency is holding back the New York Jets' offense

Looking at the game this past weekend, the Jets had six trips into the red zone. They scored a touchdown on just two of those trips. Comparatively, the Raiders were a perfect four-for-four in the red zone on Sunday. That’s a big difference in the game.

This also isn’t a new issue. This has been a problem pretty much from jump street in Week 1. There’s been meat left on the bone for this offense all year long.

After their Week 8 loss, the Jets are now dead last in the NFL in red zone touchdown rate at just 42.3 percent. Over their last three games, all losses, the Jets are converting red zone trips to touchdowns at a measly 38.4 percent.

That’s the story. You can blame whoever you like for it. Some is on the quarterback, Geno Smith; some is on the offensive coordinator, Frank Reich; and some is on everyone else. No matter how you slice it, it’s just not good enough.

When you consider the personnel, it becomes even more frustrating. Braelon Allen has carved out a nice role for himself over the past few weeks. The Jets have two young tight ends that were top-50 picks over the past two seasons. At wide receiver, you have Garrett Wilson, Omar Cooper, and Adonai Mitchell, and yet they just can not finish drives.

There have been years when the Jets have trotted out the likes of Jermaine Kearse or Breshad Perriman as the number one receiver. Those teams, and that era of Jets football, it was understandable that the team struggled to score touchdowns.

Now, there isn't a good excuse. Smith has been about as good as you could have asked for; they have the playmakers; it's just a matter of play calling and execution now. Until the red zone offense gets fixed, this Jets offense won't reach its true potential.

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