Jets crash land in home opener at MetLife Stadium

The New York Jets got handed a dose of reality as they crash landed in their home opener at MetLife Stadium against the Miami Dolphins.

The New York Jets came back to earth in dramatic fashion after a skyrocketing performance against the Detroit Lines in Week 1. In their home opener, they faced quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins and couldn’t get it done, falling to the fish 20-12.

It was a sloppy affair which included five fumbles and two interceptions. Sam Darnold, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Herndon, and Robby Anderson all coughed up the football. The Jets were lucky to recover four of those fumbles with only Anderson’s fumble going to Miami, or this could have been an uglier affair for fans in the stands. Ball security will need to improve going down the road. You won’t win many games in the NFL turning the ball over three times and offering opponents four other opportunities.

Darnold had a good game for himself beyond throwing the pair of interceptions. He’s a work in progress and fans need to be patient. He’ll make mistakes, but the talent is evident. Darnold finished the day 25 of 41 for 334 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. In the Detroit game, Darnold was faced with short fields, but Miami made sure he played the length of the field on almost every drive. The result was five Lach Edwards punts and two Jason Myers field goals.

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Special teams sparked last week in Detroit,but fizzled in their opportunities against the Dolphins. The unit returned none of the Dolphins kickoffs and Andre Roberts managed only four yards on six Matt Haack‘s punts.

On the flip side, the Jets allowed a 34-yard kickoff return by Jakeem Grant and allowed him 48 yards on three punt returns, one good for 22 yards.

The Jet defense once again produced some pressure on the quarterback, producing four sacks of Tannehill on the day. A good sign from a team who struggled last year in that department.

In fact, the Jets defense didn’t have a terrible go of it, holding Tannehill to 17 completions on 23  attempts, for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Against the run, they allowed the Dolphins running backs a total of 135 yards and one touchdown. New Jack City failed to provide the excitement they did last week, failing to find an interception in this one.

The Jets now stand at 1-1. This is a young football team and there will be growing pains. It wasn’t all bad in this one. Darnold and Enunwa are quickly becoming a dangerous combination. Enunwa accounted for 92 yards of the teams offensive output.  Five Jets receivers averaged fifteen yards per catch, with Terrelle Pryor catching four for 84 yards and Bilal Powell grabbing five for 74 yards

The much-maligned offensive line struggled to control the line of scrimmage. They allowed three sacks of Darnold, but more importantly, couldn’t open holes for the Jets running backs to exploit. As a result, Powell, Isaiah Crowell, and Darnold managed just 42 yards of rushing. Crowell led the way with a 2.9-yard average. Overall the offensive line did its job, as with the other units, it just wasn’t enough.

Remember this is a very young football team and these games will happen. The team showed up to play, there was no quit. Flags were nearly nonexistent, they are learning. All good signs for Jets fans. Nobody knows how this season will play out, it will certainly have its ups and downs. If these players continue to grow and gel as the season grows, it promises to be fun to watch, win or lose. So, it’s one game, turn the page and get ready for the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.