The New York Jets’ Week 5 37-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys wasn’t confined to the gridiron. In a moment that has gone viral, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones added insult to the humiliation, directing a specific gesture toward Jets fans in attendance at MetLife Stadium.
It was his middle finger. Jones flipped off Jets fans.
The clip, which has gone viral on social media, shows Jones smiling as he points toward Jets fans in the stands below his luxury box before mockingly flipping them off. He then chuckles and waves to the crowd to conclude his performance of ridicule.
Sunday’s 37–22 loss was already a low point for a Jets team struggling under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn. The defense is arguably the worst in the NFL. The team hasn't played competitive football in the first half of a game since Week 1. Now, they have opposing teams' owners openly mocking their fans.
This is not the supposed "new culture" Glenn was brought in to instill. It's classic "Same Old Jets" narratives. And in some ways, it feels even worse.
Jerry Jones mocks Jets fans after another shameful performance in Week 5
The Jets undoubtedly have one of the weakest overall rosters in the NFL. While the organization never explicitly called this a rebuild, it was an understood reality that the team faced after their most recent attempt at an overhaul crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
The Jets are not very good, but they shouldn't be this bad. You don't get to a point where you're the last remaining winless team in the NFL because of a sheer lack of talent alone, especially not on a roster that features a number of All-Pros and former Pro Bowlers.
Glenn can't overcome the fact that the Jets have one healthy NFL-caliber defensive end. He can't overcome the fact that Josh Reynolds is his WR2 and that his GM's draft picks outside of Day 1 and Day 2 don't look like NFL players.
But there's no excuse for this product. The Jets have been wholly outplayed in roughly 17 of the 20 quarters they've played this season. Their one-score losses to the Buccaneers and Dolphins came only after they were thoroughly whooped for the majority of both games.
The Jets have not been a competitive football team for most of this season. The only reason the raw numbers don't look even worse is because of a few lucky bounces and some garbage-time stat-padding.
This is the worst team in football, and this roster is better than that.
Instead of changing the culture and maximizing the talent at their disposal, the new Jets coaching staff has maintained the status quo of being the NFL's resident punching bag. Who can blame Jerry Jones or anyone for punching down at their opposition when they're this inept?
If the Jets can’t find a way to fix themselves soon, moments like Sunday’s viral incident will keep coming, and the humiliation will only get worse.