Chiefs 24 Jets 3: A Fitztragic Afternoon

The Jets fell to 1-2 today with a 24-3 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City. As you might imagine from the score, this was not a pretty effort by the Jets. It was led by one of the most horrific quarterbacking performances in the pantheon of horrific Jets quarterbacking performances. Let's discuss it below.

The Bad

Ryan Fitzpatrick: I mean...6 intereceptions. What else is there to say? There are interceptions, and there are INTERCEPTIONS. These were INTERCEPTIONS. Most of these were not the type where maybe the throw was a bit late, maybe the receiver didn't run a great route, and/or many the defender made a great play. These were just horrific reads/decisions/throws. The killer was the one in the red zone that happened right after the Kansas City touchdown was taken off the board by a fumble on the review. For the first time all day, it felt like the Jets caught a break. They finally got some offensive momentum, and then it was gone. The fourth quarter was just one duck after another. The Jets had a lot of opportunities to get back into this game, but Fitzpatrick simply would not let that happen. Even when he has been bad, Fitzpatrick has at least done enough to put points on the board (or at least not get in the way of the team putting points on the board). For the first time since he took over as starter, the team failed to register at least two touchdowns. It doesn't get much worse.

Jalin Marshall: Marshall's fumble really put the Jets into a mode where they were chasing the game. It put the team down three scores. That's the point where you have to get away from the run game, where the Jets might have been successful today. At some point, he has to stop getting chances if he cannot stop from fumbling. It also seemed like he ran kind of a crummy route on the first interception (perhaps the only exception to my statement about Fitzpatrick from above). So maybe Fitzpatrick would have ended the game with only five interceptions. Maybe.

Todd Bowles: He's the guy who keeps running Marshall out there even though the rookie can't stop fumbling. He didn't use his timeouts near halftime when the team desperately needed something to feel positive about heading into halftime. His defense was outschemed early, putting the team into a hole. This was not Bowles' finest hour as a coach, and he even admitted the game plan left much to be desired after the game.

David Harris: It wasn't a horrendous game by Harris, but he was beaten to the corner by the ball carrier on a few key plays. One of them came on a third down grab by Travis Kelce that would have ended the first Kansas City series. That's a tough spot for Harris, but the play was there to be made. It wasn't.

Calvin Pryor: Again, going against Kelce is a tough matchup. Pryor still got burned for a big play in coverage.

Darron Lee: I thought this was an up and down game for Lee. If you want to put him in the good, I wouldn't argue too heavily. I did think he got caught in traffic on the last three plays on the first Kansas City touchdown drive.

The Good

Matt Forte: They couldn't use him much because of how far the team fell behind, but I thought Forte was effective. He doesn't seem like he has a huge top end burst at this point, but he is crafty and smart reading his blocks and at least doesn't slow down when changing direction.

Sheldon Richardson: He was pretty active with 6 tackles and half a sack.

Leonard Williams: He was also in the backfield his fair share of times.

Quincy Enunwa: Enunwa's blossoming continues. He had 4 more receptions, one of which was a really nice grab on a contested ball. He also broke a big kickoff return, perhaps taking that role in the process.

Other Thought

• I think sometimes it's easy to forget there is an opponent on the field that is trying to win the game because we are so focused on whether the Jets are doing well or not. I thought Andy Reid put together a great gameplan. He used formations, motion, and route combinations to get the matchups he wanted and create the space he wanted. Sometimes you have to tip your cap. I do that here.