On Thursday night, the New York Jets steamrolled the Patriots by a score of 24-3. It was the most lopsided Jets victory against New England since December 1998, when Vinny Testaverde led the team to a 31-10 win.
It was a great win in just about every aspect. Aaron Rodgers looked like he did when he won back-to-back MVPs only three years ago. The Jets defense completely smothered New England’s Jacoby Brissett-led offense.
Visit our New York Jets Film page to become the smartest football fan in the land.
The game was arguably even less competitive than the 24-3 final score would indicate. The Jets became the first team in the Super Bowl era to finish a game with:
- 400+ offensive yards
- 40:00+ time of possession
- 0 turnovers
- 0 touchdowns allowed
- 7+ sacks
The fact that it came against the Patriots in prime time only made it sweeter.
Despite how sharp the Jets looked, there was still plenty of meat left on the bone.
The Jets’ prized WR1, Garrett Wilson, finished the day with five catches, 33 yards, and one touchdown on nine targets. While it was a decent performance, Wilson was on the brink of having a much bigger day.
There were five plays where the timing/communication between Rodgers and Wilson was off, causing them to barely miss on a big connection. These plays had a major role in two punts and a failed field goal attempt. Considering the Jets had only eight possessions in the game, these missed opportunities contributed to ending 37.5% of the Jets’ drives.
Yes, the Jets didn’t need a huge game from Wilson this week, and yes, the attention he commanded allowed many other players to contribute. However, Wilson and Rodgers are arguably the Jets’ two best offensive players, and they will need to hit on these plays for the offense to reach its ceiling.
I don’t write this article to be a downer after an excellent victory. But the goal of Jets X-Factor is to take off the green-shaded glasses and analyze what happens critically.
Thankfully, it’s only Week 3, and the Jets will have plenty of time to improve on this over the next four months. For now, the Wilson-Rodgers connection remains a work in progress, so it’s worthwhile to dig into their film and see what’s going on.
And it’s not just us who will be watching that film. Over this mini-bye week, you can be sure that both Rodgers and Wilson are grinding the film of their missed opportunities against New England to see where they can improve going forward.
Here are the five plays against the Patriots where the Jets’ touted QB-WR combo could not connect.
Aaron Rodgers-Garrett Wilson film
The first missed opportunity came on the Jets’ first touchdown drive of the game, halfway through the first quarter.
After marching 52 yards in just over 3 minutes, Rodgers sees Wilson with a one-on-one outside the numbers, and he gives No. 5 a chance to make a play. Rodgers goes back-shoulder, throwing it behind Wilson to pull him away from the corner and to the sideline.
Wilson was able to adjust and catch the ball, but his right foot came off the ground right before the ball arrived. It was tight coverage by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, so it’s a difficult play to make. Still, it’s one you want your best players to make.
The next two missed opportunities came in the last Jets drive of the first half.
With 46 seconds left, Wilson beat Gonzalez and was open for a touchdown but Rodgers threw the ball just out of reach.
It was irrelevant in the end. The Jets were penalized for an illegal motion by Wilson. The refs have been strict with that to start the season, and while it wasn’t egregious, you can’t give them the opportunity.
With 14 seconds left in the half, the pair missed another opportunity on third down.
With 14 seconds left and the Jets out of timeouts, Rodgers needed a quick out-breaking route to gain yards and stop the clock. Wilson gains separation on an out route, but the ball was well out of reach. Based on the timing and placement of Rodgers’ throw, it looks like Rodgers expected Wilson to make his break much earlier, rather than taking it beyond the sticks. The lack of reps together has shown throughout the first three games, especially on this play, as their timing has been inconsistent on these quick-breaking routes.
Later, with less than a minute left in the third quarter, Wilson was streaking upfield when Rodgers threw it behind him.
Whether he expected Wilson to run a different route or to adjust back the ball, they are not on the same page, leading to another incomplete pass.
The last one was late in the fourth quarter and resulted in the Jets punting the next play.
Wilson was again open downfield on a post route, however, Rodgers underthrew him. Wilson tries to come back for it but can’t get his hands under it.
The Jets will need Rodgers and Wilson to click eventually
These five plays would have brought Garrett Wilson well over 100 yards and possibly an extra touchdown. Thankfully, the Jets didn’t need these plays to win, and several ultimately did not matter. Allen Lazard scored two plays after the first play. The second and fourth would have been undone by penalties.
However, these five plays contributed to two punts and a missed field goal. Considering the Jets only had eight total possessions, that can be the difference against better teams.
To fully unlock the offense, Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson need to figure this out sooner rather than later.
