Quincy Enunwa had a straightforward response when asked how he felt after the Jets' 13-6 loss at Miami on Sunday.
"I felt good," Enunwa said. "I did my best to try to help the team out, and I'm hoping to kind of continue that throughout the year."
Typical "Q." Even though head coach Todd Bowles thought it was a remarkable comeback for Enunwa just to make it on the field after sitting out the previous two games with a bad ankle sprain, Quincy wasn't worried about his no doubt still achy ankle but about giving his team a boost.
In fact, he did a lot to try to lift the Jets past the Dolphins. His final receiving line — three catches for 40 yards — tells only part of the story:
■ Catch No. 1, with 30 seconds to play in the first half, was a tough little out route for 8 yards. It cut the distance of Jason Myers' first field goal try from 56 yards to 48. Myers put the ball through and the Jets trailed, 6-3, at the half.
■ Catch No 2, with 8½ minutes to play, was an outstanding leaping grab of a high Sam Darnold throw over the middle against tight coverage from rookie CB Cornell Armstrong. It converted a third-and-2 situation and moved the Jets into Miami territory before they stalled and Myers came on for his 56-yarder to make it a one-score game again at 13-6.
■ Then came highlight-video Catch No. 3, a bubble screen that Darnold, Enunwa and the offense worked so well before his injury. They did it again as Enunwa took the pass 2 yards behind the line, weaved between two blocks, broke two tackles, then carried three more defenders the last 10 yards in completing a 23-yard play to the Jets' 47 with more than three minutes left. And for Enunwa, that made 25 yards after the catch for a WR who was already packing an unofficial team-leading 9.0 YAC average.
Enunwa was taking no satisfaction from his small yet significant contributions in light of his team's sixth loss in nine games.
"It's just not executing plays and not playing smart football, that kind of thing. It's the same story," he said. "We're right there. It's about finishing. The defense played a hell of a game. When you look at what they were able to do, they played great. Offense, we just have to execute the plays. The plays are there. It's just about executing the plays and we have to do a better job of that."
Even though the Jets offense struggled for the third straight game, it's possible the return of Enunwa, plus WR Robby Anderson, who had four catches for 32 yards after missing the Chicago game with an ankle injury, and RB Elijah McGuire, who came off Injured Reserve to supply 30 yards on seven carries and 37 yards on three catches, can help settle their side of the ball down for the final seven games.
"It's tough but it's still there for us," Enunwa said. "It's not exactly where we want it to be, but in this league anybody can lose at any time. We know we just have to keep fighting and keep striving for our goals."
