With only four games completed, the Jets are at the crossroads

By VINCENT DAVIS | Amsterdam News

The first quarter of the NFL season is over. Except for the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles (Can you believe that?) and the 2-1 Green Bay Packers, two teams coming off a bye week, each of the 28 NFL teams have played four games each.

Besides Philly, the only other undefeated teams are the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings. The rest have records of 3-1, 2-2, 1-3 and the dreaded 0-4. It’s a five-tier system with 1-3 and 0-4 being the worst. Unfortunately, this tier is where we find the New York Jets.

Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks marked the Jets’ third defeat of the season, their second in a row, their second lowest output of scoring so far this season, giving up their second highest amount of points.

The Jets were in the game for the first three quarters, but they couldn’t hold on. With the score 14-10 at the half, Seattle with the lead, the Jets only gave up a field goal in the third. At 17-10 in the fourth quarter, the Jets completely lost it. They couldn’t score, and they couldn’t prevent Seattle from scoring.

Richard Sherman, Seattle’s cornerback, hurt the Jets’ offense. Their tight end, Jimmy Graham, hurt the Jets with hard-to-contain sideline catches. Their quarterback, Russell Wilson, with a hobbled MCL and a high ankle sprain, hurt the Jets with his timely placed passes.

In short, there’s not enough pressure up front from a defensive line that totaled seven sacks in Game 1 and a broken down secondary.

The Jets, recently considered a playoff team, play a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, pitting two of the league’s five African-American coaches against each other—Todd Bowles, the second-year head coach for the Jets, and Mike Tomlin for the Steelers. Tomlin, 44, has won a Super Bowl and lost one since attaining his head coaching position with the Steelers in 2007. 

What’s Bowles’ message to his team? He said, “We fought two battles two weeks in a row and we lost, but the season is not over. We’re 1-3, but we have to grind. We have to get better, and we’re going to do that next week. We’re going to get better.”

That’s a very tall order for a team at the crossroads. They can do that Sunday, attain their goal, grind, get better, even if they don’t win, a sentiment well worded by Bowles, who has also taken a stance of commitment and confidence in quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, despite his nine interceptions in two games.

At 3-1, Tomlin’s Steelers rebounded strongly last weekend from a shocking 34-3 lost to the Philadelphia Eagles the previous week by decisively beating the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14 in Pittsburgh’s building Sunday. Tomlin’s proved that he can turn his team around, make adjustments and win.

The Steelers have all-pro players in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his five touchdowns scored against Kansas City, and their leading receiver, Antonio Brown. They average 27 points per game and give up 18 and a half. They’re a postseason-bound team. 

This strong team is who the Jets must rebound against during their time of struggle, without receiver Eric Decker (a torn rotator cuff) and possibly without cornerback Darrelle Revis, who is day to day because of a mild hamstring strain. But as some fans yelled to safety Calvin Pryor as he exited to the players parking lot of Metlife Stadium after Sunday’s loss, “Keep your head up.” That’s what the Jets have to do.