Jets receiver Eric Decker: 'We're not a bad football team'
New York Jets receiver Eric Decker said after the 43-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday that he doesn't believe the Jets are a bad football team but that they make too many mistakes, according to NJ.com.
The loss to Buffalo dropped the Jets to 1-7 on the season and kept them in last place in the AFC East. Only the winless Oakland Raiders have a worse winning percentage among NFL teams.
“We’re not a bad football team,” Decker said. “We just do stupid stuff. It’s something that, at this point, it’s frustrating. All you can do is carry on and keep chopping the wood.
“I think it’s the mistakes – that’s the biggest thing I’m going to take from this game. When you turn the ball over so much, when you have penalties, when you just do stupid stuff, you’re never going to win a football game.”
New York committed 10 penalties for 90 yards against the Bills and has 61 penalties overall this season, which is fifth-most in the league. Twenty-four of those penalties are pre-snap, which is second only to the Seattle Seahawks' 29.
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The Jets also committed six turnovers on Sunday, including three interceptions on eight pass attempts in three straight first-quarter possessions by quarterback Geno Smith, who was benched for backup Michael Vick after his last interception. Vick threw one interception and lost two fumbles, and New York is now last in the NFL in turnover margin at -13.
The loss to the Bills was the Jets' seventh in a row, marking their longest losing streak since 2005. The team's struggles have called into question the job security of head coach Rex Ryan, who said earlier this month that this is the low point of his coaching career.
Ryan has been the team's coach since 2009 and took the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons, but New York has won just 22 games the past three seasons and has failed to make the playoffs each year.
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Decker was signed by the Jets in the offseason after spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos. He has recorded 31 receptions for 363 yards and three touchdowns while dealing with a hamstring injury this season.
New York visits the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.
- Ben Estes
