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The New York Jets were blown out by the New England Patriots last night, 33 - 0. Sam Darnold looked lost in what was one of the worst performances by a quarterback in a Jets history littered with terrible quarterbacks. Darnold was joined in his terrible awfulness by every member of the Jets offense not named Bell. This was truly a group effort. The Jets offense, the offense run by Guru Gase, scored zero points in 8 quarters against the Patriots this year. The gap between these two teams has never seemed greater.
The loss dropped the Jets’ record to 1-5 on the season and extinguished much of the hope last week’s win over the Cowboys may have generated. How did the power rankings feel about this loss? Let’s find out.
29. JETS (1-5)
Last week’s ranking: 29
Week 7 result: Lost to Patriots 33-0
Analysis: Boy, that was ugly.
Up next: at Jaguars
25. Jets (Last week: 25)
Hey, remember when Sam Darnold returned from mononucleosis and played well enough against the Cowboys to be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 6? Darnold will probably want to hold on to that faint memory after what the Patriots did to him on Monday night in a 33-0 thumping. Darnold was absolutely helpless against a New England defense that threw every look in the book at him, and though he’s just the latest in a line of quarterbacks to go into that woodchipper, Darnold fared no better than anybody else. On the evening, Darnold completed 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards, no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 3.6. It was a severe regression for a guy who’s looked very good when healthy since the last month of his rookie season in 2018, but this is less about Darnold and more about a defense the likes of which the NFL has never seen.
27. New York Jets (1-5) ( Last Week’s Rank: 25)
Sam Darnold looked lost Monday night, and the Jets suffered their most lopsided shutout defeat to the Patriots in their history. The only good news is that they’re done facing the Patriots this season.
28. New York Jets (1-5) (Last Week’s Rank: 28)
Recalibrated expectation: Reach predicted also-ran status
Widely projected as an also-ran (7-9 was a popular prediction, and the Jets will be hard-pressed to reach that record), New York has underachieved because of a variety of reasons, and, despite having the easiest remaining schedule, will finish with a top-10 pick. The previous regime, fired in the offseason, built a win-now team. This season has proven they’re a long way from winning now.
With the obvious proviso that power rankings are stupid, unless they praise the Jets, in which case they’re brilliant, what do you think? Where should the Jets rank in the NFL power rankings?