Jets must get elite receivers more involved on offense

On Sunday, the New York Jets suffered an embarrassing defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the game, the offense was almost completely stagnant as some of their top wide receivers were unable to record significant statistics.

When the New York Jets visited the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday, they had one of their worst offensive performances to date. Almost every offense statistic was poor as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw six interceptions, practically handing the game to the Chiefs.

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Amongst the most underwhelming statistical performances from the Jets Week 3 matchup were the Jets star wide receivers, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Marshall caught three passes for 27 yards while Decker caught one pass for 31 yards. It was undoubtedly very concerning to see such low production from two of the Jets best players.

Over the course of the game, Marshall was targeted ten times while Decker was targeted just six times. By the time the games was over, Jets fans found themselves puzzled as to how the team’s star receivers were managed and integrated into the team’s game plan in a game that was very important for New York to win.

As far as Decker is concerned, it is clear that he should be getting many more targets than what he saw come his way in Week 3. While six targets may not sound like a despicably low number, it is important to note that a bulk of those targets came in the fourth quarter when it was too little too late.

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Decker has been a star player for the Jets and both offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick must acknowledge that on every single drive. It is vital to the team’s success for Decker to be involved early and often for the Jets.

Another important thing for Gailey to recognize when it comes to Decker is that some plays which ran for him last season are simply not working anymore. Teams have much more film to go off of, so they have caught on to some of Gailey’s tricks, so he will need to be more creative and unique with his play-calling going forward.

For Marshall, a number of targets were not nearly as concerning as it was for Decker. Nonetheless, the Jets need to find a way to get Marshall much more involved in the offense than he has been thus far in the season. Whether that is the responsibility of Gailey, Fitzpatrick, or Marshall himself, it has to happen.

One major variable to consider when evaluating Marshall’s performance against the Chiefs is the fact that he had suffered a knee injury against Buffalo the week before. Injuries have haunted Marshall in recent years and he will need to be fully healthy in order for the Jets offense to achieve maximum success.

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With all that being said, it is fair to say that the Jets must get Marshall and Decker more involved if they are looking to break their playoff drought. They can do so by mixing up their play-calling and trying different things. The team is dependent upon them putting up significant numbers in each and every week of the season, so it is a must for the Jets to figure this issue out quickly.