Saints March All Over Jets in New York's Latest Demoralizing Defeat
Another game, another demoralizing performance from the New York Jets.
While Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill and the Saints ran all over New York's defense, combining for three touchdowns on the ground, rookie quarterback Zach Wilson and the Jets' offense put together a feeble attempt to move the football, managing three field goals in a blowout loss.
Wilson had a sloppy day, spraying errant throws from sideline to sideline as his teammates dropped passes and committed costly penalties. On defense, New York never had a chance to stop the Saints, allowing 100-plus rushing yards for the fifth time in the last six weeks.
When the final whistle blew at MetLife Stadium, the Jets had lost 30-9 and were officially eliminated from postseason contention, extending the franchise's playoff drought to 11 years.
The win for New Orleans helps catapult the Saints back into the playoff race in the NFC, snapping a five-game losing streak.
New York was outmatched across the board from start to finish.
Wilson and the Jets went three-and-out on each of their first three drives, totaling 16 yards on offense in the first quarter. They ended up with a few scoring drives—kicker Eddy Pineiro went 3-for-3 on field goals—but ended up with just 256 yards of offense, many coming in garbage time.
Meahwhile, Kamara had a signature performance in his first in-game action since Week 9. The running back racked up 120 rushing yards on 27 carries with a score, part of a 203-yard day on the ground for New Orleans.
That's more than the 202 passing yards produced by Wilson on Sunday afternoon. Sure, the rookie didn't turn the ball over, but he also didn't throw a touchdown pass—and his accuracy was abysmal, routinely missing wide-open receivers. The 22-year-old completed just 19 of his 42 pass attempts.
It's performances like these that make you wonder if Wilson is capable of producing at this level.
Not to use it as an excuse for Wilson, but the absence of Elijah Moore, Michael Carter and Corey Davis was glaring for New York on offense as well. Braxton Berrios (six catches, 52 yards) was the only player to accumulate more than 40 receiving yards in the loss.
Those that were supposed to step up in the place of Gang Green's injured playmakers did their best to vacate playing time moving forward. Running back Ty Johnson dropped three passes in the first quarter and receiver Denzel Mims committed back-to-back penalties in the second quarter, before barely seeing the field in the second half.
Next up for the Jets is a rematch with the Dolphins down in Miami next Sunday.
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