The inability to score falls on Josh McCown

When Sam Darnold went down and Josh McCown came in, many thought that the New York Jets offense would spark. Instead, the offense has gotten even worse with a veteran clearly on the verge of retirement.

Josh McCown took over the New York Jets starting quarterback job in Week 10 following Sam Darnold‘s foot injury. Despite offensive expectations rising, the unit failed to improve at all. As a matter of fact, they got even worse.

The Jets offense has ranked dead last in yards per play since McCown took over, and it’s hard not to put the blame on him. He has a league-worst 4.9 Y/A among starting quarterbacks during that time span. Darnold has averaged 6.7 Y/A this season, which is still below average.

This abysmal offense has become the worst in the league in nearly every category since McCown’s return. They are dead last in first-down percentage with a whopping 19.6 percent compared to 24.8 percent when Darnold is playing.

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McCown’s individual stats don’t make up for the teams play, either. He has one touchdown, 539 passing yards, a 55 percent completion percentage, and a 56.3 quarterback rating. All of these land him in last in the NFL.

The only person who is even in the vicinity of these numbers is Lamar Jackson, who is three starts into his NFL career and has 265 rushing yards to back himself up.

If Todd Bowles thought that Darnold would get anything out of watching McCown play, he thought wrong. If anything, Darnold should be making a “what not to do” list on the sideline as he watches McCown play. Darnold appears to be ready for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, and it looks to be the last the NFL will see of McCown playing starting quarterback.

Hopefully, the return of Darnold will light a fire in this offense as they head into the final stretch of the season. They won’t be playing for a playoff spot, but they could fight for their coaches jobs or even their own jobs. Nevertheless, this offense needs a spark desperately, and hopefully, Darnold can provide it to the end season on somewhat of a high note.