Officially Eliminated from Playoffs
The Jets were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday with their 30-0 loss to the Dolphins coupled with wins by the Browns and the Texans.
Head coach Robert Saleh's message to his team was that it's a tough pill to swallow, but the Jets have three more opportunities to right the ship before heading into the 2024 season.
"We got three given games, so we've got to go out there and put what we want on tape," CB D.J. Reed said. "When guys hear that, it's still mentally easy to throw in the towel, knowing that we're not going to playoffs. So I think it resonated with the guys, but I also think that there's a human side, which is like, 'OK, I want to take care of myself and make sure I'm healthy,' but I feel like we got the right guys in the locker room to go about these games, take them like a championship week and finish the season out strong."
Garrett Wilson Wears His Heart on His Sleeve
Jets WR Garrett Wilson tied for the team lead with 29 receiving yards on 3 catches, but was not targeted until the third quarter.
"With Garrett, you're always trying to find ways to give him the football," Robert Saleh said. "Again, starts and ends up front to be able to get the quarterback a chance to go throw it. Then obviously the quarterback with timing, and then again from a coaching standpoint to make sure we are putting these guys in position to get the ball in and out of their hands as quickly as possible. Again, credit to [the Dolphins]. They did a really nice job doing their best to take him away and they beat us up front."
All-Pro CB Jalen Ramsey lined up against Wilson on 23 of his 42 routes (54.8%) and did not allow a reception on his only target as the nearest defender in coverage. The CBS cameras showed multiple shots of Wilson being emotional on the sideline.
"Trying to figure out the way to make those 60 minutes productive on the offensive side if possible," said Wilson, who leads the team with 79 catches and 882 receiving yards. "That time's still ticking away and you feel it ticking away. Just trying to figure out how to get something going. A lot of times it comes off like I'm saying something, but reality of it is I just talk with a lot of emotion sometimes, especially when I'm playing the game I love and not getting the results that we want."
Beaten Up Front
The Jets played their 11th offensive line combination on Sunday with, from left to right, Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Joe Tippmann, Jake Hanson and Billy Turner.
The Dolphins totaled 6 sacks and LB Bradley Chubb accounted for 3. Chubb also forced 2 fumbles and recovered 1. His first FF came on the Jets first possession and was recovered by DL Zach Sieler on the Green & White's 1-yard line. Three players later, the Dolphins went up 7-0 with a Raheem Mostert rushing TD, his first of two.
"Credit to them," Robert Saleh said. "I thought they obviously won the battle up front right from the get and just made it hard on us to be able to get anything going, both run game and in the pass
game."
He added: "Chubb is a heck of a football player, has been for a while. When you're dealing with a guy like him, you're going to win some, you're going to lose some. [Mekhi] is going to have three more opportunities to strap it together and play some good football."
