Monday Morning Quarterback: New York Jets vs. New England Patriots

As usual, it was a tight game yesterday when the Jets took on the New England Patriots. The Jets actually had the lead for a good portion of the game. But, in the end, they just couldn’t make enough plays, and their opponents could, so the Jets fell to the Patriots by the margin of 17-16. The Patriots clinched a first round playoff bye, and the Jets dropped their record to 3-12. Let’s relive it for a few minutes.

When you break it down, football is pretty easy to understand. Yesterday’s Jets game was no different. The Jets entered the red zone three times, came away with no touchdowns. That cannot happen against ANY NFL team. It especially cannot happen against the New England Patriots. They will make you pay, and they made the Jets pay. If you go ahead against the New England Patriots, and you don’t put them away, you are going to lose. You can just about take that to the bank. And that is what happened to the Jets yesterday.

Like I said, it’s simple. Convert touchdowns in the red zone, you win NFL football games. If you don’t, you lose NFL football games.

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback

(7) reacts after an incomplete pass during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Jets 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Geno Smith is just such a hard quarterback to read, isn’t he? If you remove all of the hate and the venom that he receives, and look honestly at his play, the Jets quarterback is very interesting. Yesterday, he didn’t play a terrible game, going 17-27 for 210 yards and one touchdown to go along with one interception. He has games like this where he shows potential as the Jets future quarterback.

But then, he makes decisions that are just baffling. The interception was tough. Yes, he was hit as he through it, but the throw he was trying to make was a bit risky. You have to make better decisions with the football, and Geno Smith didn’t make a good one there.

The sack was just awful. There is much talk about the “internal clock” with quarterbacks. For our younger readers, that means that the quarterback has to have a timer in his head that counts to about three seconds, and if nobody is open, either run or throw the ball away. The quarterback just has to have that internal instinct at the position. On that play, Geno Smith held onto the football for about six seconds. You cannot do that. Ever. It cost the Jets.

These two plays probably cost the Jets the football game.

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets cornerback

(22) intercepts a pass against the New England Patriots in the second half during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

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The Jets played well as a group on defense, holding the Patriots to a mere 231 yards of offense. One guy that looked just terrific to me was Marcus Williams. He was credited with three pass defenses to go along with one interception and seven combined tackles. Williams showed some excellent cover skills, standing up to whatever the Patriots had. It’s one game, but I think he has earned the chance to compete for a job with the Jets in 2015.

So, one more game to go, next week down in Miami.