The New York Jets’ 2-6 record is mostly due to the immense underperformance of various accomplished players who were expected to form the backbone of the team. Supposed superstars are playing like regular dudes, or even worse in some cases.
Some of the Jets’ underwhelming players have at least somewhat of a reasonable explanation for their woes, but for others, it is extremely difficult to explain why their performance has taken such a steep nosedive.
These are the five most inexplicable year-over-year dips from New York Jets players in 2024.
Sauce Gardner’s fall from grace
I thought the criticism of Sauce Gardner was slightly overblown at times earlier in the season, but it is difficult to come up with any more excuses for the two-time All-Pro after his grotesque performance against Jacoby Brissett and a group of receivers scrounged together at the Foxborough YMCA. Gardner is not playing close to the lofty standards he set for himself over his first two NFL seasons. He is capable of so much better than what he’s putting on the field, and he has to recognize that when he watches his film back.
Gardner does not appear to be putting in maximum effort as a tackler this year. Week after week, he appears hesitant to initiate contact, leading to brutal whiffs on plays that should be easily made by any NFL cornerback.
Sauce Gardner the Golfer has regressed greatly since focusing only on golf pic.twitter.com/QlhSIzUjPG
— Brett Hoffman (@BrettHoffmanjr) October 27, 2024
The numbers support the claim that Gardner has been one of the worst tackling cornerbacks in the NFL. On the year, Gardner has a missed tackle rate of 23.3% (per PFF), which ranks seventh-worst among 72 qualified cornerbacks (min. 300 defensive snaps). It is slightly more than twice as high as his missed tackle rate from 2022-23 (11.6%).
On top of his poor tackling, Gardner is not contesting passes with the same tenacity he used to. He has allowed a passer rating of 100.9 on throws in his direction, ranking 45th out of 72 qualified corners. He is also yielding a career-high 16.6 yards per reception, way up from his 9.9 yards per reception from 2022-23.
Jets fans became accustomed to trusting that Gardner would thwart almost any target in his direction, but now, Kayshon Boutte, a sixth-round pick who entered Sunday’s game with 10 career receptions in two seasons, is beating him for a clutch deep reception late in a close game.
Kayshon Boutte COOKING Sauce Gardner.
Glad he caught this one pic.twitter.com/feFpLrS5oJ
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 27, 2024
To be fair, Gardner has continued to do a great job of deterring quarterbacks from throwing his way. He has only been targeted 25 times on 272 coverage snaps this season. His rate of one target every 10.9 coverage snaps ranks eight-best at the position.
This is not something that should be overlooked or scoffed at. Gardner remains strong at handling his business from down to down, consistently winning his assignment and forcing the quarterback to go to his next read. Gardner’s excellence in this area is one of the main reasons why the Jets have been so good at collecting sacks despite their pass rush not performing well.
However, even with his continued success at preventing targets, it is hard to argue that Gardner has been anything better than an “average” starting cornerback at best. His tackling is abysmal, targets in his direction yield a higher passer rating than the average cornerback, and he has yet to generate a takeaway.
While I think it’s excessive to claim that Gardner has been “bad” this year (although he has definitely been bad in particular aspects of the position), he has certainly been no better than average, which is a far cry from his status as the arguable No. 1 cornerback in football over the past two seasons. It is difficult to fathom how a 24-year-old who started his career in a historically dominant fashion could decline so harshly in the matter of one season without any injury issues to explain it.
Breece Hall’s speed and elusiveness
After a promising 2023 season in which he vastly exceeded the expectations of the Jets’ woeful offensive environment, Breece Hall was poised for a big year in 2024. Instead, he’s declined. That cannot be blamed on his surroundings, which, despite being underwhelming, are no worse than his surroundings in 2023. It is entirely due to his individual decline as a playmaker.
Compare Hall’s individual performance at creating his own rushing yardage:
- 2024: 2.91 yards after contact per attempt (28th of 43), 0.1 Rushing Yards Over Expected per attempt (28th)
- 2023: 3.41 yards after contact per attempt (3rd of 41), 0.7 RYOE per attempt (5th)
This can be traced back to a decline in Hall’s speed. Compare Hall’s GPS tracking metrics from NFL Next Gen Stats:
- 2024: 20.27mph max speed (14th), 1 carry of 20+ mph (10th)
- 2023: 21.50mph max speed (4th), 6 carries of 20+ mph (1st)
Hall simply isn’t as fast as he was in 2023. Why? Good luck finding an explanation. Hall has not missed a game this year or even had a “questionable” designation going into one. He was coming off an ACL injury in 2023 and is now two years removed from the injury. It is impossible to explain the decline in speed with the knowledge at hand, which makes him the perfect inclusion in this article.
The mental aspects of Aaron Rodgers’ game
It is not inexplicable that Aaron Rodgers has underperformed this season. He is a 40-year-old man who tore his Achilles last September. That’s plenty of evidence right there.
However, most of Rodgers’ issues have little to do with his body. Rodgers’ arm looks fine; he is spinning the ball with velocity and has delivered a ton of big-time throws. What cannot be explained is Rodgers’ performance in the mental aspects of the game.
The four-time MVP often looks like a rookie out there. He is jittery in the pocket and indecisive with the football. At times, his field-reading is shockingly poor for a player of his pedigree.
2PT conversion after taking the lead.
Play before, you take a delay of game😂
Now from the 7, the Pats zero blitz, line blocks the wrong way.
This ball needs to go to GW, throwing to MW at the 4 YL accomplishes nothing.
Throw it to the EZ!
GW visibly unhappy.
Brutal sequence. pic.twitter.com/vkoVnlTzGi— Andrew Fialkow (@afialkow21) October 28, 2024
2nd and 2, 5:52 left in the 4Q.
Light box here with only 6 guys.
RPO, and Rodgers chooses to go to Conklin in the flat which goes for no gain instead of IZ to Braelon.
99% sure Braelon gets the 1st here.
Next play was a sack.
Missed opportunities galore man. pic.twitter.com/HhOTuUavAF— Andrew Fialkow (@afialkow21) September 30, 2024
Play-action here with double TE chips.
Vikings in a quarters coverage.
Just an inaccurate ball from Rodgers to GW on a deep out from a clean pocket.
Breece is also WIDE open on the check down.
Very well could be a pre-determined read by Rodgers but a tough rep either way. pic.twitter.com/6tVOJt4I2g— Andrew Fialkow (@afialkow21) October 9, 2024
It gets worse.
1st down, Steelers in man coverage.
GW wins cleanly on the slant route and is WIDE open.
Rodgers is staring at it but turns it down too quickly…
Could be a huge play.
Instead, incomplete to Breece.
What was the play after this?
The 2nd INT (GW drop).
I'm sick. pic.twitter.com/qziU3U73Kn— Andrew Fialkow (@afialkow21) October 21, 2024
Everyone knew Rodgers’ mobility would be at an all-time low. People were prepared for a possible dip in arm strength. But Rodgers’ brain was the last muscle in his body that people expected to fall off.
Tyron Smith falling from star to liability
Similar to Rodgers, Tyron Smith‘s fall-off is not totally inexplicable, as he is 33 years old and has missed 50 games in his career. The man is not a spring chicken, and he has dealt with three seasons’ worth of injuries. It is not surprising that his performance is declining.
Nobody could have expected Smith’s decline to be this severe, though. Smith was still dominant in 2023, earning second-team All-Pro honors despite missing four games. His allowed pressure rate of 3.36% ranked second-best among left tackles. Smith was high enough in the left tackle hierarchy to where he could drop 10-to-15 spots on the leaderboard and settle in as an average starter at worst.
Instead, Smith has fallen from a top-two pass-blocking left tackle to the bottom of the barrel. Smith has allowed 22 total pressures, third-most among left tackles and already four more than he allowed in 13 games last season. His allowed pressure rate of 6.53% is nearly double his 2023 rate.
In addition, Smith is tied for the eighth-most penalties among left tackles with six. He only had three in 2023.
Players often hit a wall in their thirties, but it is downright shocking to see a future Hall-of-Famer stoop from being an All-Pro to barely looking starter-caliber in the matter of one season.
The veteran special teams trio forgetting how to do basic things
Special teams were the least of the Jets’ worries entering the 2024 season. Now, it seems like the Jets cannot execute routine tasks in any facet of special teams.
All of the vitriol in Jetsland is focused on Greg Zuerlein, but the inexplicable issues go beyond just him. We’ll start with Greg The Leg, though.
Zuerlein was slightly overrated entering the 2024 season. His 92.1% field goal percentage in 2023 was an outlier compared to his 81.1% mark in 2022 and 82.2% career mark. It should also be noted that Zuerlein has been prone to some ugly years in the NFL, so his 2024 implosion is not totally surprising. Across 12 seasons entering 2024, Zuerlein had three seasons where he made under 75% of his attempts.
So, yes, Zuerlein was slightly overrated entering the season, and he has been prone to down years in the past. Even with those factors in mind, the extent of his 2024 woes is beyond comprehension.
Not only is Zuerlein’s 60% field goal percentage (9 for 15) the worst in the NFL and on pace to be a career low, but five of his six misses came from under 50 yards. Only one of Zuerlein’s 15 attempts were from 50+ yards. He has the lowest average attempt distance of any qualified kickers in the NFL (35.0 yards), yet he has the worst field goal percentage. That combination should not be possible!
It doesn’t stop with Zuerlein, though. What was up with Thomas Morstead‘s laces-in hold against New England? The Jets’ 38-year-old punter cannot spin the ball correctly on a hold? That is as inexplicable as it gets. Zuerlein will be giving Ray Finkle a call soon.
Laces in smdh https://t.co/jCIX051uDq pic.twitter.com/mWFQQSNPzq
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) October 27, 2024
Thomas Hennessy, typically one of the most reliable long snappers in the NFL, got exposed in Pittsburgh when he was beaten for a blocked kick. Even the Jets’ least-criticized player of the past decade cannot avoid the spotlight in this season from hell.
long snapper had a rough go https://t.co/xS17PGv70q
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 21, 2024
When even the most reliable veteran trio on your team is no longer capable of executing its basic responsibilities, you know your season is all the way down the toilet.
