62-0 to 62-1: Jets just pulled off a loss the NFL has never seen

Congratulations, reader!

You, yes you, the person reading this on your phone, had 10 more passing yards than Justin Fields on Sunday. The New York Jets will be expecting you at the team facility on Tuesday afternoon to try out for the role of “Quarterback.”

By now, you’re probably aware that the Jets set a new franchise low with -10 net passing yards in their 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Finishing just five yards short of a game-winning field goal attempt from Nick Folk’s career-long distance, Gang Green may have won the game if they had spiked the ball on every passing play. That would have been boring, though. Making history is far more memorable.

The Jets’ putrid passing performance isn’t the only history they made on Sunday. In fact, it might not even be the most unfathomable feat accomplished by Aaron Glenn’s squad.

Losing in this way shouldn’t be possible (It wasn’t until yesterday)

The Jets showed progress in many areas compared to their first five games. They forced their first turnover of the season and had their first turnover-free game. The defense also had its best outing by a longshot, while the team was disciplined in the penalty department.

New York won the turnover battle 0-1, held Denver to 246 yards of offense, and committed just two penalties.

Before Sunday, NFL teams in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) had a record of 62-0 when checking these four boxes:

• 0 turnovers
• 1+ takeaways
• Committed two penalties or fewer
• Held opponent to under 250 yards of offense

Make it 62-1.

Losing in a 62-0 scenario is bad enough, but what makes the Jets’ loss even more startling is that they shouldn’t have merely won: They should have blown the Broncos out into the English Channel.

Most of those 62 victories were massive blowouts. The average margin of victory was +23.6. Thus, it would be remarkable even if the Jets only won by a slight margin, let alone lost the game entirely.

Besides just being a shocking stat, this feat reflects poorly on Aaron Glenn and the Jets’ coaching staff for squandering an advantage that should be unsquanderable (that isn’t a word, but let’s roll with it; the Jets have me in the spirit of doing things that have never been done before).

This feat shows how much of a liability Aaron Glenn and the coaches are

As bad as the Jets had been through five games, they had some tough breaks regarding turnover luck and officiating. On Sunday, things were finally going the Jets’ way.

A fumble bounced into their arms on the first drive of the game. The Jets’ lone fumble not only stayed in their possession but resulted in a chunk gain in a critical spot. The officials were on the Jets’ side, calling four more penalties on Denver. A near-lost fumble by Garrett Wilson was overturned. New York’s defense finally showed up, with some help from a Denver coaching staff that called an incredibly conservative game in the second half.

Everything went the Jets’ way. It shows up in the turnover, takeaway, opponent yardage, and penalty columns. You’re not supposed to lose when all of these categories go in your favor; it’s why teams were 62-0 in this scenario.

Losing despite all of those advantages would have to require some extreme self-sabotage. That’s exactly what Glenn and the Jets’ coaching staff did.

At multiple junctures of the game, the Jets’ coaches found ways to beat their own team.

Late in the first half, the Jets (trailing 10-6) had a chance to drive and put some points on the board. They got the ball back at their own 16-yard line with 3:22 on the clock and all three timeouts. Given their field position, it was a perfect opportunity to close the half with a score and prevent Denver from getting another possession. Since the Jets were due to receive the second half kickoff, they could double up on the Broncos if they executed perfectly.

Instead of showing urgency to drive the ball and get something going, the Jets ran the ball on their first two plays for four yards. A passing conversion followed, but the Jets ran on two of the next three plays to set up fourth-and-1.

Over two minutes had passed, and with 1:04 on the clock, the Jets had only driven 21 yards to the 37-yard line because of their sluggish approach.

After barely converting a fake punt on fourth-and-1 (which was poorly executed since the Jets tipped it off by leaving Breece Hall on the field), the Jets had the ball at first-and-10 on their own 38 with a full minute remaining and one timeout. There was still time to salvage this awfully managed drive.

Rather than operate with a renewed sense of urgency to score points, the Jets ran up the middle again on the next play, milking 16 seconds for just five yards. A sack followed, and the Jets called their final timeout. On third down, the Jets hit a six-yard pass to set up fourth-and-1 at the 47-yard line with over 30 seconds still on the clock.

With the offense struggling mightily all half (they did not pick up a first down until this final drive), the Jets could have shown aggressiveness by attempting the fourth-and-1 conversion to try and seize their opportunity to double up on Denver. It was a perfect chance for Glenn to show confidence in his offense and inject life into a dormant team.

The Jets raced to the line, and what followed left Kurt Warner speechless in the broadcast booth. They stood around and let the clock run out.

This is how you lose in an unlosable situation: The coaches taking points off the board through sheer malpractice.

Between Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, if the Jets showed any semblance of urgency on that drive, they had a golden opportunity to drive into field goal range for a kicker who has been incapable of missing this year. That one field goal would have been all the Jets needed to win in the end.

Instead, they were complacent with zero points, and that’s how you get a losing result on the scoreboard despite the Jets seemingly doing more than enough to win comfortably (even with the offense being as bad as it was).

The first half fiasco was the biggest crime, but it doesn’t stop there.

Glenn had multiple chances to bench Justin Fields, who, like a starting pitcher who can’t get swings and misses on his fastball, clearly did not have his best stuff from the get-go. Glenn could have made the move at halftime, after the third quarter, or ahead of the Jets’ final offensive drive, which followed a horrendous series by Fields on the previous possession.

With one competent drive of Tyrod Taylor checkdowns, the Jets would have scored enough points to win. By prioritizing loyalty over using the players who give the Jets their best chance to win, Glenn made it clear that maximizing New York’s chances of winning is not his top priority. He would rather salvage off-field messaging than make optimal strategic decisions.

We’re not done. In the fourth quarter, Glenn blew the Jets’ lead through a blend of cowardice and incompetence. Leading by one with 10:23 left, the Jets were facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 30. This was a blatantly clear “go for it” situation based on any analytical model. Glenn blew a timeout to mull the decision, and he still punted.

The Broncos drove for the go-ahead field goal on the ensuing drive.

Not only that, but the Jets regretted not having that timeout later on, as it could have helped them save more time for the offense to operate or potentially get the ball back after the offense stalled.

It’s simple: The Jets lost an unlosable game because of egregious mismanagement from the coaching staff.