Frustrated Garrett Wilson on Jets' lack of rhythm, laying egg 'when it matters'
The NFL is a week-to-week league. What is good one week can turn sour the next.
The Jets offense scored on each of their first four drives a week ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers and put together a 32-point outburst with four touchdown drives. Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, New York managed just one field goal drive on its first six possessions, gaining just 78 yards on 24 plays. Things didn't improve in the second half of the 30-10 loss to Buffalo, dropping them to 0-2 on the season.
"All week, you feel like you have a good plan," wide receiver GarrettWilson said after the game. "We had a good week of practice, and come out and lay an egg when it matters, so we gotta figure it out.
"I don't know, I don't know exactly how that happens. Props to them, I guess."
Against Pittsburgh, quarterback Justin Fields had just six incompletions on 22 attempts and threw for 218 yards, with Wilson accounting for 95 of those yards and seven catches and one score. Against Buffalo, Fields managed just three completions out of 11 attempts and 27 yards through the air before exiting with a concussion in the fourth quarter. Wilson led the team with 50 yards (most of which came in garbage time from reserve quarterback Tyrod Taylor) on four catches.
"Yeah, definitely frustrating," Wilson said. "We didn't play well when we were on the field; it felt like we weren't on the field. Just didn't play well, not good enough. Just can't wait to go practice. Not good enough."
On the day, the Jets managed 11 first downs, went 0-for-11 on third down, ran just 47 total plays, and held the ball for 21:39.
"I just feel like we didn't get a rhythm on offense and that was hard on all of us out there," the wide receiver said. "We didn't do a good job of helping [Fields]. I know I put one on the ground today, and making plays when he was out there. So we all got to do our part. And that starts with us in the receiving room making plays and getting this thing rolling as soon as we get out on the field."
Tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who caught his first career touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, told SNY's Jeane Coakley that the offense "just got off schedule."
"Little things that we need to clean up," Ruckert said. "Whether that's penalties, just being more efficient on first down, making sure that we control the narrative, coming out and executing the play that's called, and getting a positive play on first down so we can open the rest of the offense up."
The offense's first down plays in the first half: two-yard run, Fields fumble on a scramble, 12-yard run, 18-yard pass, loss of 10 yards on a run, loss of five yards on a run, seven-yard run, 11-yard run, no gain on a run, and a seven-yard run.
That translated to 42 yards on 10 plays with a fumble and a 20-3 halftime deficit.
"Those are things that we talk about all week that we can't do," Wilson said about the early turnover and early penalties. "Everybody [who] is responsible, no one feels worse than them at that time when they make those plays, they all know that. Those are things we talk about all week, emphasize all week: the ball No. 1, and how to go against the Bills 17 [quarterback Josh Allen].
"All week we hammered that home we thought. And just stuff that can't when we playing against a good team like that. When you do stuff like that, you're going to find yourself in a tough spot."
Head coach Aaron Glenn laid it out plainly: They kept the ball, and we didn't keep the ball. It's just that simple."
With 15 games left, there is still time for the pendulum to swing back Gang Green's way.
"Opportunity for us to get together and see what happened," Ruckert said. "It's Week 2, so grow from it. Obviously, it's not ok, but the sign of a good team that's trying to build culture is how you respond [to] it. So we're gonna look in the mirror, see what happened, and get it fixed."