Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was ugly across the board for the New York Jets.
New York surrendered 48 points and failed to generate any real disruption up front, finishing with just two quarterback hits and no sacks.
Speaking with reporters after the loss, head coach Aaron Glenn did not hide his frustration with the team’s nonexistent pass rush.
“It’s hard to explain,” said Glenn. “Especially knowing that he [Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence] is a guy that is going to hold the ball and try to play hero ball for the most part, we have to do a better job of getting to the quarterback and we didn’t do that today, so it’s really hard to explain that and that is the reason I am somewhat pissed at that.”
When the Jets got bodies into the backfield, they were unable to finish, highlighted in two key instances that ultimately turned into huge plays. Surrounded by pressure, Lawrence slipped free, turned upfield and ran 15 yards for a touchdown, pushing Jacksonville ahead 14-0 with 6:24 left in the first quarter.
The same issues surfaced again late in the half. On third-and-10, New York generated pressure with multiple defenders breaking through, but Lawrence escaped once more and fired a pass on the run to a wide-open Parker Washington for 33 yards, moving the ball to the Jets’ 15-yard line as the first-half clock hit the two-minute warning.
New York’s struggles to bring down opposing quarterbacks have lingered all season, and those issues were once again on full display in the Jets’ Week 15 embarrassment.