The New York Jets faced a stark reality on Sunday as they succumbed to a narrow 10-9 loss against the Denver Broncos. Playing at home, the Jets not only saw their record slip to 2-2 for the 2024 season but also highlighted significant issues within their offensive lineup.
Plagued by Penalties
In a performance marred by a staggering 13 penalties—an NFL-high for Week 4—the Jets struggled to maintain discipline. Eight of these infractions were on the offensive side, and notably, five of them were false starts. This undisciplined performance represents a drastic shift from the previous three weeks when the Jets only committed a single false start.
Left guard John Simpson and running back Breece Hall were particularly culpable, each flagged for two false starts. Left tackle Tyron Smith also contributed to the tally with a false start of his own. Head coach Robert Saleh acknowledged the disheartening downturn: "We got to figure it out. Whether or not we're good enough to handle or ready enough to handle all the cadence. Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously today took a major step back," he remarked.
Misfiring Offense
The Jets' offense found itself in an uncharacteristically precarious position. The team was the second-most penalized offensive unit in Week 4, trailing only the Houston Texans, who accumulated nine penalties. This level of penalty-laden play sharply contrasts with their early-season discipline; from Weeks 1 to 3, the Jets' offense tied for the tenth-fewest penalties in the league.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed his perplexity over the sudden spike in penalties: "That's one way to do it. The other way is to hold them accountable. We haven't had an issue. We've only had one false start. [Right tackle] Morgan had one false start I believe until this. You know it's been a weapon. We use it every day in practice. We rarely have a false start. To have five today it seemed like, four or five. Yeah, it seems like an outlier. I don't know if we need to make mass changes based on kind of an outlier game."
Missed Opportunities
While penalties set the team back, missed opportunities sealed their fate. Kicker Greg Zuerlein had a chance to clinch the game for the Jets with a 50-yard field goal attempt, but missed, leaving just 51 seconds on the clock. The miss stung as it could have swung the momentum in their favor and possibly avoided a debilitating home defeat.
Former NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly weighed in on the importance of maintaining offensive discipline and the leverage provided by Rodgers' hard count. "He nailed it: 'my hard count is a weapon.' The amount of big plays, go ask Jordy Nelson. 'Hey Jordy, do you think the hard count that Aaron Rodgers has is effective?' He would say, 'Yeah, I got paid a lot of money on go balls that Aaron threw me after a defensive lineman jumped offsides.'"
Attention to Detail
Former Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of detailed attention to snap count and overall pre-snap discipline. “Aaron is all about the attention to detail. So, snap count, that's attention to detail. You got to be locked in on something like that. We always talked about in Green Bay 'that the play is hard enough to win on its own, so let's not lose it pre-snap.' ... At least let's get our pre-snap operation smooth.' Everybody hears the same snap count in the huddle, so there's really no excuse for one of these things. Holding people accountable, I agree (with Rodgers). Sometimes that's what you have to do versus run from it. Have certain consequences if guys can't get right."
Ultimately, the Jets must regroup and address the issues that led to their slip-ups. With a 2-2 standing, the season is still theirs to shape; however, reducing penalties and optimizing performance during key moments will be critical if they hope to stay competitive in a heavily scrutinized NFL season.