The New York Jets got off to a promising start against the New Orleans Saints, but offensive struggles ultimately derailed the effort in a tough 29-6 loss to Kellen Moore’s squad.
New York won the coin toss and chose to defer, sending Tyler Shough and the Saints’ offense onto the field first. Two plays in, after a deep incompletion, rookie Malachi Moore ripped the ball free from Taysom Hill, and the Jets recovered, handing Brady Cook and company a short field to start their first possession of the game.
Despite Cook completing three of his four pass attempts for 20 yards and early momentum on their side, New York’s offense stalled in the red zone and settled for a field goal, taking a 3-0 lead with 10:38 remaining in the opening quarter.
Nick Folk’s kickoff fell short of the landing zone, setting the Saints up at their own 40-yard line. New York limited the damage, forcing a field goal after undrafted rookie cornerback Jordan Clark made a key third-down tackle to stop the drive.
On the ensuing drive, Cook converted a quarterback sneak on third-and-short, but the play was wiped out by a chop-block penalty on offensive guard John Simpson. The infraction set up third-and-16, and a completion to Jeremy Ruckert fell short of the sticks.
New Orleans followed with a field goal to take their first lead of the game, 6-3, with 14:18 remaining in the second quarter, after Jamien Sherwood’s clutch third-down sack, the team’s first in two weeks.
The field goal exchange continued as Folk drilled his second of the game, tying the score at six with 12:38 remaining before halftime. The offense had found a rhythm, but a timely pass breakup at the line of scrimmage by Saints defensive back Justin Reid brought the drive to a halt.
Facing fourth-and-one near midfield, the Saints kept their offense on the field, but Sherwood timed his jump perfectly and met Shough in the backfield, stopping the quarterback sneak short of the sticks.
Despite the prime field position, New York’s offense went backward and was forced to punt on fourth-and-13. Playing complementary football has been an issue all season, and that sequence was another clear example.
The Jets’ defense again came through with a stop after a Qwan’tez Stiggers pass breakup on second down and a tackle by Dean Clark that left Chris Olave a yard short of the marker. On fourth-and-short, however, New Orleans caught New York off guard with a fake punt, snapping the ball to up man, Hill, who picked up the first down. New Orleans moved the ball into the red zone, but Stiggers came up with another key play, breaking up a potential touchdown to Olave on third down. The stop forced another Saints field goal, giving New Orleans a 9-6 lead with 1:31 remaining in the first half.
Despite having all three timeouts and 90 seconds to work with, the Jets’ offense stalled again. After picking up a first down, Cook was sacked on consecutive plays, bringing Austin McNamara and the special teams unit onto the field to punt. The kick pinned New Orleans at their own nine-yard line, leaving the Saints, despite having no timeouts, 54 seconds to try to add points. Shough moved the Saints into position for a 63-yard field goal attempt, but Smyth’s kick missed wide, sending the game to halftime with New Orleans holding a 9-6 lead.
To open the second half, the Jets leaned heavily on the ground game, with Breece Hall finding success early in the half. The drive came to an end, however, after Cook was sacked on third down, forcing a punt to begin the half.
The defense carried their momentum into the second half, forcing a punt on the opening drive after Jowon Briggs brought down Shough on third down, giving New York’s offense another prime chance to take the lead.
Another defensive stand led to another punt for New York. Similar to the opening drive of the second half, the offense showed early balance on the ground and through the air before crumbling after failing to handle a New Orleans blitz, which led to a drive-killing sack.
The Saints scored their first touchdown of the game on the next drive, as Shough connected with a wide-open Olave to extend the lead to 16-6 with under a minute remaining in the third quarter.
From there, the game began to snowball.
On the following drive, Cook was stripped on third-and-long near midfield, and the Saints recovered before cashing in with a field goal to extend the lead to 19-6 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
A Cook interception set up another Saints field goal, effectively putting the game away as New Orleans extended their lead to 22-6 with just 5:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Sunday’s loss to the Saints marked New York’s third straight defeat and dropped the Jets to 3-12 on the season.
