NY Jets: Season ends with disappointment in Buffalo

The NY Jets (10-6) are out of the playoffs with their loss in Buffalo on Sunday. What went wrong and why this will forever be a season of what ifs.

Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. These are the words that immediately come to mind after a frustrating loss by the Jets in their regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets came into the contest with literally all of the momentum. A five-game winning streak highlighted by a dramatic overtime victory over their arch rival, the New England Patriots.

But all of that came to a screeching halt against guess who, Rex Ryan and the Bills. The final score wasn’t the only thing eerily similar to the Jets-Bills first contest earlier this season. The Jets tendencies of slow starts on offense continued in this contest. The Jets showed an inability to convert third downs early in this game and that continued throughout.

Temporarily, the offense was sparked by Chris Ivory who ripped off a 58-yard run putting the Jets in prime field position. Unfortunately, the Jets went with three straight pass plays following that run and settled for a field goal attempt that went wide right, encapsulating the Jets day in Buffalo.

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Missed opportunities. That’s what the 2015 season will forever be remembered as for the Jets. They seemed to have the right balance for a deep playoff run.

A veteran quarterback. A top flight defense. Legitimate weapons on the offensive side of the football. A level headed coach who seemed to have this team rolling evidenced by their mid-season five-game winning streak. This team had legitimate Super Bowl aspirations with the roster assembled by executive of the year candidate in Mike Maccagnan.

Improving a 4-12 roster to one just outside of the playoff picture is incredible. As great of a job as Maccagnan and Bowles did, unfortunately there are no moral victories in the NFL. Right now Jets fans are furious, as they should be, even with the team exceeding expectations this season it’s hard not to look at this season as a disappointment.

Bowles: “Every loss stings. It stings because it’s the last loss.” pic.twitter.com/S5J1JjgY1i

— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 3, 2016

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The Jets face a lot of important questions this off-season, especially with the one the Jets had last year. Even with a disappointing finish to the 2015 season, Ryan Fitzpatrick had one of the greatest passing seasons in Jets history, do you bring him back on an extension? The Jets’ backfield didn’t live up to expectations, how does that get altered? The possible cap casualty questions and of course, what to do with Muhammad Wilkerson who suffered a broken leg in the season finale on Sunday?

All these questions and much more will be addressed over time as the Jets now officially start preparing for 2016.