Analysis: Jets embarrass themselves in ugly, 15-10, loss to Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. — Well, so much for that whole idea of the Jets being a playoff contender. That notion seems absolutely absurd after what we saw Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs beat the Jets 15-10, led by former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. But, really, the Jets embarrassed themselves. They came out absolutely flat against a Tampa Bay team that had lost five straight to fall out of playoff contention. Now the idea of the Jets contending for the playoffs is laughable as they head into the bye week at 4-6, losers of three of their last five games. And the way they played on Sunday, the Jets shouldn’t even be allowed to take next week off. They have so much to work on. The offense was utterly inept. The defense was OK, until late in the game when it started getting tired because the offense kept racking up three-and-outs. But all facets of the game had breakdowns in discipline, committing costly penalty after costly penalty. And, yet, because Fitzpatrick is not a very good quarterback (he finished 17-of-34 for 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception) and the Bucs are banged up, the Jets still had a chance to win the game in the second half. But they couldn’t even come close. Offensive disaster Josh McCown picked the absolute wrong time to have his worst game as a Jet. He finished 22-of-39 for 263 yards a touchdown and an interception. But 151 of those yards and the touchdown came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The Jets’ first-half offense performance was abysmal. But it got much worse in the third quarter. They were down by less than a touchdown for the entire third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, and yet here’s all the Jets could muster on offense to start the second half: three-and-out, three-and-out, fumble, and another three-and-out. By the time the Jets got the ball back for a fifth second-half possession, they were down 15-3 and the game was all but over. This is on Jets’ offensive coordinator John Morton, who couldn’t make the appropriate adjustments after halftime. And it was on McCown, who was awful. Yes, the Jets were without running back Matt Forte and receiver Jeremy Kerley. But those guys are hardly MVP candidates. The Jets should have been able to find a way to score against a struggling Tampa Bay defense. And they couldn’t. Crushing penalties Early in the fourth quarter, the Jets had a chance to get off the field and back into the game. Fitzpatrick had thrown a series of bad throws and missed his target on third down. But Darryl Roberts was flagged for pass interference and the drive continue. Tampa Bay managed to run off another five-plus minutes off the clock, and Fitzpatrick found Charles Sims III for a six-yard touchdown to put away the Jets. Fitzpatrick, from his back, pumped his fist in celebration knowing the game was over. As if that wasn’t bad enough: earlier in the second half, the Jets’ intercepted Fitzpatrick but had it called back because of a penalty. These were just the most vivid examples of penalties killing the Jets. The Jets committed eight penalties for 77 yards, continuing a trend that we’ve seen all season. The Jets were called for holding on the opening kickoff; they were flagged for holding on their first two drives of the day; things just got worse from there. The Jets are far from a good football team, as Sunday’s wretched performance proved. And even when they OK, they’re certainly not good enough to commit senseless penalty after senseless penalty and hope to win. Perhaps if the Jets had been less sloppy in the penalty department, they may have found a way to eek Sunday’s game out. But we’ll never know. Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com Below is our running, in-game analysis Bucs 6, Jets 3 -- late third quarter TAMPA, Fla. -- The quality of play has not improved in the third quarter. The Bucs drove down the field on their first drive of the second half, and Patrick Murray kicked a 49 yard field goal into the wind to give the Bucs the 6-3 lead early in the third quarter. But after that, it's been exclusively three-and-outs for both teams. The Jets' first two drives of the second half resulted in a three-and-out. Their third drive resulted in a fumble that handed Tampa Bay the ball at midfield. The Bucs' two drives after their three-and-out both ended in a three-and-out -- both with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing near picks. Tampa Bay took over at their own 49 after Bilal Powell's fumble with 3:25 lremaining in the third quarter. Perhaps the Bucs can capitalize. But, the way this game has gone, that would be surprising. Jets 3, Bucs 3 -- halftime The first half has, mercifully, come to a close. It was ugly in every way. Both offenses were bad. But the Jets were particularly awful, because penalties continue to be a problem. The Jets committed five penalties for 44 yards in the first half, including four offensive holding calls. The passing game wasn’t much prettier. Josh McCown completed only 6-of-16 passes for 82 yards and an interception. More concerning, he was sacked twice for a loss of 16 yards — including a big-time, blind-side sack late in the first half. McCown is 38-years-old. If he keeps taking those types of hits, his season will not end well. Ryan Fitzpatrick was only marginally better, completing 6-of-12 passes for 58 yards and an interception.

It could be worse. The Jets are still in the game despite a dreadful start. Chandler Catanzaro drilled a 47-yard field goal as time expired to tie the score at 3-3. Meanwhile, don’t expect to see cornerback Morris Claiborne in the second half. He has a foot injury and is doubtful to return. Bucs 3, Jets 0 -- mid second quarter The battle of journeymen quarterbacks has not been pretty to watch. During one ugly sequence in the second quarter, Jets quarterback Josh McCown unleashed a deep ball down the center of the field toward Robby Anderson. The only problem? Anderson was covered by two defenders. One of them, Brent Grimes, easily picked off the ball and returned it all the way to the Jets' 32. Tampa Bay seemed to have the momentum. (The Jets' offense has been an absolute mess by the way; McCown started 2-of-8 for 18 yards and a pick.)