New York Jets Week 2: Four Things Learned in Humbling Loss to the San Francisco 49ers
It was a second-straight difficult game for the New York Jets, a 31-13 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After a rough loss last week in their season opener at the Buffalo Bills, the Jets showed very little improvement if any.
The Jets struggled on both sides of the ball against the defending NFC champions. They managed just 277 yards of total offense (a marginal uptick from the 254 yards they managed in Buffalo). Conversely, they allowed the 49ers to convert 7-of-13 times on third down.
The offense was bad. The defense was even worse.
But hey, kicker Sam Ficken (made both field goal attempts) and punter Braden Mann looked good so there’s that.
Four things learned from the Jets in Week 2:
Wanting More – After a flat offensive performance in Week 1, the Jets were marginally better on offense. It just seems, however, that there is simply no creativity in the offense at this point.
And while the offense was bland and unimaginative, it should be noted that the Jets were without wide receivers Denzel Mims (hamstring) and Jamison Crowder (hamstring). In addition, Le’Veon Bell (hamstring) is also out.
Those are three big pieces to the offense.
On the Jets second drive, Darnold did a nice job. He touched a pass to Breshad Perriman on an out route for a first down. Three plays later on third down, he stepped up in the pocket as the 49ers brought pressure, keeping his eyes down field and then taking off on a quarterback keeper for the first down. There were good moments, but they were few and far between.
The offense seemed effective in spurts but never put together a sustained drive until their final time with the ball when they went 80 yards on seven plays for their first touchdown of the game. Consistently, the play calling was lacking and the protection of Darnold was adequate at best.
The Defense Struggles (Again) – Last week, it was Josh Allen physically dominating the Jets defense in the Buffalo Bills Week 1 win. This week, it was the 49ers getting big plays and picking their way down the field methodically.
It was the busted plays, however, that really killed the Jets.
On the game’s opening possession, the 49ers needed one play – just one play – to get on the scoreboard. Raheem Mostert took the game’s opening snap and ran 80 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
It was symbolic of the Jets defense on the day, who had problems stopping San Francisco and getting off the field.
Indicative of this – in the third quarter and with San Francisco facing a third-and-31, Jerrick McKinnon cut back and went left, rumbling 55 yards before being forced out of bounds by cornerback Pierre Desir. The 49ers would get a field goal on the drive to officially pull away.
Big plays and a lack of concentration ruined the Jets defense.
Braxton’s Day – Filling in for the injured Jamison Crowder, Braxton Berrios had a solid game in his expanded role. He finished with six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
During the week, head coach Adam Gase talked about Berrios being a potential impact player and yet the difficulty in getting him on the field given just how good Crowder is. Gase needs to find a way to get both wide receivers on the field, at the same time, and exploit their speed. Something…anything…to ignite a stagnant Jets offense.
Berrios is simply explosive. The Jets offense is lacking that.
He’s the Mann – In his second NFL game, Braden Mann looked solid once again. He had a 44.4 punting average on five punts and showed a little bit of everything.
He landed one punt inside the 20-yard line and came close on another. He also showed off his leg with a 52-yard punt.
The Jets sixth round pick put in a good performance last week in the Jets Week 1 loss. He is turning into a reliable punter and one of the few bright spots on the enter roster from the first two games of the season.
