Why Have Jamison Crowder's Numbers Dropped Recently?

Through Jamison Crowder's first three games this season—split by a few weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury—the wide receiver had 335 reception yards and two touchdowns.

In his last three games, Crowder has only 73 total yards.

Before Wednesday's practice, Jets head coach Adam Gase was asked why the slot receiver's production has decreased over the last month, specifically against the Dolphins on Sunday.

"I mean Miami doubled him on something like 16 of the passes," Gase explained in a Zoom call with reporters. "He had a guy inside and outside of him, and there were a couple times he split them both and we had an opportunity on some stuff with him. It looked like early in the game they were singling him up and then he had a couple catches really quick and then that was the last time he saw one guy on him."

New York's quarterback Sam Darnold echoed Gase.

"This past game they did a really good job of making sure that, for the most part, he was taken away, and that’s a credit to their scheme and what they did against us," he said in a conference call earlier this week.

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Considering New York managed just three points against their division rivals, perhaps it's fair to chalk this last loss up to facing a talented secondary. For Crowder, however, this decrease in touches can be traced back over the last several games, not just this past week.

Crowder was targeted 46 times through his first four games (an average of almost 12 targets per game) with 29 total catches. Over New York's last three contests, the 27-year-old has 11 total targets and just six receptions.

Even with this sudden regression, we're still talking about the Jets' leading receiver. In his seven games played, Crowder has 456 yards. That's over 100 more than anyone else in a Jets uniform this season.

Therefore, this may very well be a case of defensive backs executing game plans to perfection, locking down their opponent's leading receiver. With rookie Denzel Mims and Breshad Perriman hitting their stride over the last three weeks, and seeing the ball thrown their way more than ever, the emphasis on the other side of the ball evidently has been taking Crowder out of the equation.

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It's also worth noting, whether it's Darnold or Joe Flacco at quarterback, Crowder was the one targeted on a pair of costly interceptions.

In Week 11, Flacco tried to hit Crowder on an out route from inside the Jets' own 10 yard line. Chargers cornerback Tevaughn Campbell intercepted the pass and scampered a few steps into the end zone for a pick six with ease.

Last week against Miami, Darnold threw an ill-advised pass across his body and into double coverage in the vicinity of Crowder. That ball was snagged out of the air by a defender as well.

Finally, with all the injuries across New York's offense in 2020, evidently it's been a challenge for several players to find a rhythm. That's one of the factors that's led to New York's 0-11 record thus far.

Week 12 against the Dolphins was the first game this year where Darnold had Crowder, Mims and Perriman all on the field together. Only time will tell if the Jets quarterback can spread the ball to all three of those receivers starting this weekend against the Las Vegas Raiders.

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