Zach Wilson concussed as Jets eliminated from playoff contention

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A New York Jets season that began with so much Aaron Rodgers-inspired hope and hype hit rock bottom Sunday, as so many others have.

A resounding defeat against a divisional enemy. Elimination in the playoffs. A waste at the quarterback position.

The Jets, 30-0 losers to the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, continued the longest active playoff drought among the four major sports leagues. They were mathematically eliminated for the 13th straight year after what cornerback DJ Reed described as a “good old fashioned whooping.”

It was an embarrassing performance in which the Jets were outscored 290-103. It was so lopsided that receiver Allen Lazard offered this blunt assessment of the debacle: “They outplayed us and they outplayed our effort.”

No one had it worse than quarterback Zach Wilson, who was sacked on four of 15 dropbacks and suffered a concussion late in the second quarter. He was replaced by Trevor Siemian, who will become the Jets' fourth different starter if Wilson is not out of concussion protocol by next Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders. The Jets haven't started four quarterbacks in a single season since 1989.

At 5-9, the Jets are coming off their eighth straight losing season — currently, the NFL's longest slump — and that seemingly eliminates the possibility of Rodgers making a miraculous return to the field after Achilles surgery on 13 september. Rodgers, 40, could be medically cleared this week, but he has repeatedly said it wouldn't make sense to play if there was no playoff involvement.

So, in the span of three hours, the Jets suffered a concussion from one quarterback and destroyed the comeback dream of another. Coach Robert Saleh, whose record fell to 16-32 (including 2-13 in December/January), declined to speculate on Rodgers' chances of playing again this season.

Before the season, the Jets considered themselves Super Bowl contenders, but their world was rocked in the fourth game, when Rodgers ruptured his left Achilles tendon. They couldn't even hold on long enough to give Rodgers a chance to make a heroic comeback.

“It's disappointing, from the first series of the year until now,” Saleh said, commenting on the playoff failure. “It’s been a constant battle.”

Cornerback Sauce Gardner admitted the team squandered an opportunity to perhaps get Rodgers back for the stretch stretch.

“Our job is to keep winning and if our victory had brought it back, then, yes, [we let him down]”, he said. “But it's not something that everyone is concerned about. At the end of the day, we just want to win. »

From the start it was a total collapse. The Jets were outscored in the first half, 197-4. Much like it did for Rodgers in Week 1, it was the fourth play that led to their demise. This time, Wilson suffered a strip-sack deep in his own territory, putting the Dolphins on the 1-yard line. A touchdown quickly followed, and that pretty much ended the game for the Jets.

Wilson (4 of 11, 26 yards) was examined for a concussion early in the game by the independent neurologist, but was cleared to return. Finally, after several hits, he was pulled near the end of the first half. The score was 24-0 when Siemian entered with 1:03 on the clock.

“It’s definitely not fun to watch,” Reed said, referring to the shots Wilson absorbed. “You want to see your offense having fun, moving the chains. It's pretty hard to watch.”

Saleh blamed the offensive line, saying: “It starts from the beginning. We have to be better up front.” The Jets, starting their 11th different line combination, allowed six sacks and 14 quarterback hits. Left tackle Mekhi Becton, who struggled, suggested they weren't overpowered by Miami's front. He said they were weakened by self-inflicted mistakes.

“We were able to communicate better across the line,” he said, adding that the first strip bag was the result of a poor sliding guard. “We have to find the right cadence. We all have to be better together. … It's very shocking.”

The Jets' top playmaker, receiver Garrett Wilson, had just three catches for 29 yards. He wasn't targeted until the third quarter.

“I’m aware of that,” he deadpanned when a reporter mentioned it.

Wilson, an emotional player, was filmed several times during the game expressing his frustration on the sidelines. “Oh, yeah, sure,” he said, though he didn't blame the coaches for not finding a way to get him the ball.

“I have to figure it out, be better, run better routes, be better in the meeting room to figure out how I can get involved early and often and how we can win games,” Wilson said.

In the second half, the Jets looked exhausted, seemingly going through the motions. Reed felt a mismatch midway through the third quarter.

“You could kind of just see the [lack of] “The energy and the momentum and the emotion on the guys’ faces — it was down the whole game,” Reed said. “I wouldn’t say I was too happy about it.”