Jets Week 16 Anti-Game Ball: Bryce Petty

The Jets lost on Sunday, which requires handing out another anti-game ball.

We try to follow certain rules pertaining to the anti-game ball. We try to avoid giving it to the quarterback. We also try to avoid giving it to repeat winners. These are both too obvious. For the first rule when the team loses, odds are the quarterback has played poorly. For the second rule the anti-game ball usually goes to a bad player. If you get it once, odds are you have to get it again.

For a player to receive the anti-game ball twice in a row, it takes spectacularly poor play. For a quarterback to receive it twice in a row, it has to be otherworldly poor play.

That is where we find ourselves, though. The Jets lost a game where they only allowed 14 points. That is difficult to do, but it is possible when the quarterback only throws for 119 yards. After averaging an unfathomable 4.59 yards per attempt against the Saints, Petty actually turned in a worse number against the Chargers. He averaged 4.25 yards per attempt.

Every basic quarterbacking task seems to be an issue with Petty. He doesn’t throw accurately. He frequently misreads or doesn’t read the defense. He misses wide open receivers. His mechanics are inconsistent.

I know this is the low hanging fruit, but it’s tough to find another player who contributed anything close to what Petty contributed to this loss.

He gets my anti-game ball, and he should get yours as well.