New York Jets: Top 5 takeaways from Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills

The New York Jets opened up their 2019 season with a heartbreaking, embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills. Here are our top five takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

The New York Jets have officially begun their season and they did so in the most Jets way possible. Despite an awful offensive showing, the Jets managed to secure four defensive takeaways keeping the team in the game.

And not only were they in the game, they were winning it for most of the afternoon.

Gang Green led 16-0 at a point and held a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter only to choke it away with a disappointing showing over the final 15 minutes of the game.

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It’s devastating, heartbreaking, and embarrassing all in one.

And with the upcoming schedule, it’s going to be difficult to bounce back from this defeat. It may only be Week 1, but a loss like this sets the tone for the entire season and it’s going to be up to the team to rebound with some much better football as the year goes on.

But before we could advance to next week, we must first recap the monstrosity that was yesterday’s game. Let’s take a look at the top five takeaways from the Jets’ Week 1 loss to Buffalo.

Next: 5. Kicking woes continue

5. Kicking woes continue

The Jets went into this offseason with an All-Pro kicker on their roster and came out the other side with the worst kicking situation in the league.

Chandler Catanzaro was originally signed to be the team’s long-term replacement for Jason Myers but the former Arizona Cardinals kicker shockingly retired following an awful training camp period.

So the team brought back a familiar face in Taylor Bertolet to see if he could be the answer at the position. Bertolet didn’t even make it out the preseason with a job after a disastrous August showing.

Finally, the Jets newest project at kicker is rookie Kaare Vedvik who made some noise this preseason when the Minnesota Vikings traded a fifth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for his services.

Vedvik would reward them by going 1-for-4 in the preseason before being unceremoniously dumped by Minnesota. The Jets picked Vedvik up off waivers hoping that he would be the answer that they’ve been searching for.

And after just one game with the team, they might already be looking to move on.

Vedvik failed to convert his only extra-point attempt and missed wildly on a 45-yard field goal attempt. His play was so bad that the Jets opted to go for two at one point for no other reason than to keep him off the field.

The Jets likely haven’t found their answer yet, but the regular season isn’t exactly the time to be searching for answers.

Next: 4. Cornerbacks predictably struggle

4. Cornerbacks predictably struggle

Just as we knew that the Jets kicking situation was a mess heading into Week 1, we also knew all about the struggles of the team’s cornerbacks. And right on cue, they proved everyone right in the season opener.

While Brian Poole actually did an admirable job covering Cole Beasley in the slot, the outside cornerback duo of Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts struggled all afternoon to contain the speed of John Brown.

Brown finished the day with seven catches for 123 yards as he torched the Jets secondary. The lowlight of the afternoon came on Brown’s 38-yard game-winning beating Roberts who looked lost while attempting to track the football.

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The Jets struggles in the secondary were highlighted plenty in the summer and nothing has seemingly changed at the start of the season. The fact of the matter is that Johnson is playing like a No. 2 or 3 cornerback and Roberts is a career backup.

And even though the latter played well last season, it was foolish to expect the duo of Johnson and Roberts to be suitable starters in 2019.

Unfortunately, the Jets have dug themselves in quite the hole and it doesn’t appear that there’s any way out in sight. Unless they could find a gem with either Nate Hairston or Arthur Maulet — doubtful — or make a midseason trade, it appears that they’re stuck in this pit of misery.

And with receivers such as Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, and Alshon Jeffery set to face the team in the coming weeks, Sunday’s matchup was about as easy as it was going to get.

Next: 3. Offensive gameplan is questionable

3. Offensive gameplan is questionable

But while the Jets defense certainly had its struggles and their kicking game could have ultimately cost them, there was really no excuse for the questionable playcalling from head coach Adam Gase in his Jets debut.

The Jets were conservative with their approach opting simply for dump-offs and underneath routes as opposed to pushing it down the field. The intermediate passing game was wholly ignored while only a couple of deep shots were taken.

Overall, it was a poor use of the team’s offensive talent.

Some of this should be blamed on the lackluster play of the offensive line — we’ll get to that — as quarterback Sam Darnold didn’t have much time at all to work in the pocket. But at the same time, the Jets seemingly had no answer for the Bills blitzes.

Not once was Darnold asked to roll out. And rarely did the Jets keep in an extra blocker or two even when the Bills were showing blitz on third-down. Instead, Darnold just sat back in the pocket only to face pressure immediately or ultimately get sacked.

There were no offensive adjustments to be found and that combined with the limited play selection led to a dull, uninspiring performance from the offense.

Was the execution great? No. Did the offensive line help matters? Absolutely not.

But this game could have been called better and it will be interesting to see how Gase gets other players not named Jamison Crowder and Le’Veon Bell involved in the offense moving forward.

Next: 2. Offensive line is a work in progress

2. Offensive line is a work in progress

The Jets made a couple of key additions in the offseason in an attempt to sure up what was a pretty poor offensive line unit in 2018. But after Week 1, those efforts appear to be in vain.

Kelechi Osemele and Ryan Kalil joined the usual three starters of Kelvin Beachum, Brian Winters, and Brandon Shell and the unit looked like a group of players who had never actually played in a game together before.

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And that’s exactly what they were.

Kalil was signed late in the summer and Osemele and Winters dealt with injuries in training camp and the preseason. That meant that the five-man unit never got to play together in a simulated game before Sunday.

The lack of chemistry up-front was apparent as Darnold was sacked four times and hit a bunch more. Multiple times the offensive line was seen discussing missed assignments with each other and the lack of communication remained a major concern all game long.

The optimistic takeaway from this is that issues like this can be fixed.

Another week of practice and another game in the books should be extremely helpful for an offensive line that simply needs reps together. But they won’t have much time to regroup with Cleveland coming to town next week.

It’s a matchup nightmare for the Jets offensive line and they better get on the same page soon or else the team might see a repeat performance next week.

Next: 1. Free-agent signings looking strong

1. Free-agent signings looking strong

But if there is one positive takeaway from Sunday’s game it was the incredibly impressive performances from the Jets top free-agent signings.

Le’Veon Bell, Jamison Crowder, and C.J. Mosley each put together incredibly strong performances in their Jets debuts. And given the fate of last year’s free-agent class, it’s safe to say that this appears to be a welcome change.

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Last season, the Jets biggest free-agent signings were Trumaine Johnson, Spencer Long, and Avery Williamson. While Williamson has been a great addition — prior to his ACL injury — the other two have been complete busts with Long departing after just one season.

After just one game, the Jets’ 2019 free-agent class has already out-performed the 2018 class and it’s not even close.

Bell finished with 92 scrimmage yards and a TD to go along with a fabulous two-point conversion reception in the corner of the endzone just seconds after his first score with the Jets.

Crowder totaled a whopping 14 catches for 99 yards pacing the team in both departments. And Mosley was the beneficiary of two takeaways — his first a pick-six — and a beautiful pass-deflection that saved a touchdown in the second half.

Unfortunately, Mosley would subsequently limp off the field with a groin injury and his status for next week is unknown. That said, the defense’s struggles following his departure are indicative of his importance on the team.

It may only be one game, but the Jets’ top free-agent signings are living up to the hype and then some. And that’s at least one reason to remain optimistic about the future.