The Jets' Home Woes: Penalties and Missed Opportunities Against the Broncos
The New York Jets endured a heart-wrenching defeat at home, succumbing 10-9 to the Denver Broncos in a game that underscored their struggle with penalties and missed opportunities.
With an NFL-high 13 penalties in Week 4, the Jets' discipline issues reached their zenith. This loss, which sets the Jets' record at 2-2 for the 2024 season, highlighted severe shortcomings on their offense. Of the 13 penalties, eight were committed by the offense, propelling them to the second-most penalized offense of the week behind the Houston Texans.
A glaring issue was the offense's false starts, totaling five in the game. Left guard John Simpson and running back Breece Hall accounted for two each, while left tackle Tyron Smith had one. This was a stark contrast to the season's first three weeks, where the team only had one false start violation and tied for the 10th-fewest offensive penalties in the league with just eight. Head coach Robert Saleh acknowledged the setbacks, stating, "We got to figure it out. Whether or not we're good enough to handle or ready enough to handle all the cadence. Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously today took a major step back."
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers also voiced his frustrations, emphasizing the anomaly of the situation, "That's one way to do it. The other way is to hold them accountable. We haven't had an issue. We've only had one false start. [Right tackle] Morgan had one false start I believe until this. You know it's been a weapon. We use it every day in practice. We rarely have a false start. To have five today it seemed like, four or five. Yeah, it seems like an outlier. I don't know if we need to make mass changes based on kind of an outlier game."
The penalties were not the sole issue plaguing the Jets. With 51 seconds left in the game, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a pivotal 50-yard field goal that could have given the Jets the lead. The miss encapsulated a game racked with self-inflicted wounds.
Former NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly and former Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams provided insightful comments on Rodgers' challenges and the critical nature of snap counts. Kuechly emphasized the effectiveness of Rodgers' hard count, recounting its impact through his career, "He nailed it: 'my hard count is a weapon.' The amount of big plays, go ask Jordy Nelson. 'Hey Jordy, do you think the hard count that Aaron Rodgers has is effective?' He would say, 'Yeah, I got paid a lot of money on go balls that Aaron threw me after a defensive lineman jumped offsides.'"
Adams focused on the importance of attention to detail in avoiding pre-snap penalties, "Aaron is all about the attention to detail. So, snap count, that's attention to detail. You got to be locked in on something like that. We always talked about in Green Bay 'that the play is hard enough to win on its own, so let's not lose it pre-snap.' ... At least let's get our pre-snap operation smooth.' Everybody hears the same snap count in the huddle, so there's really no excuse for one of these things. Holding people accountable, I agree (with Rodgers). Sometimes that's what you have to do versus run from it. Have certain consequences if guys can't get right."
The Jets must address these discipline issues quickly if they aim to compete effectively in the 2024 season. An uncharacteristic game filled with penalties and a missed opportunity to clinch a win spotlighted the areas needing immediate improvement.
Ultimately, the focus now shifts to correcting these mistakes and ensuring they don't become a recurring theme in the Jets' campaign. The foundation of a solid season is built on discipline and execution, and it remains to be seen if the Jets can revert to the form that saw them tie for the 10th fewest penalties in the initial weeks of the season.