New York Jets make a bad call and Gregg Williams pays the price

The New York Jets have lost all 12 games they have played this season and are on course to be one of only six teams since 1944 to go through a whole season winless.

Henry Ruggs of the Las Vegas Raiders reacts after scoring a late, late winning touchdown against the New York Jets who had led with five seconds remaining. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

To compound the fans' concerns, on Sunday night, they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They lost 31-28 to the Las Vegas Raiders in a game in which they trailed their opponents for only five seconds.

That’s just the way this season has gone for the Jets. In fact, it’s the way the last decade has gone for the Jets.

After the game head coach Adam Gase spoke of improvement and how the signs were pointing in the right direction for his much-maligned team.

The stark reality is that in his second season Gase now has a record of seven wins and 21 losses as Jets head coach and has experienced losing seasons in four of his five years as a head coach.

The Jets’ woes date back further than Gase’s time in New York as the team have had just one winning season in the past decade and no playoff appearances in that time.

As an organisation, they are stuck in a mire of bad results, terrible play calling and poor draft returns and Sunday night’s loss summed that up perfectly.

With the game on the line, the Raiders had the ball at midfield and needed a touchdown.

In these situations the defensive coordinator usually plays conservatively. They make sure that they don’t give up a touchdown by filling the backfield and allowing short passes. But not the Jets and, in this instance, not Gregg Williams.

The experienced defensive coordinator, known for his aggressive nature (google ‘Bountygate’), decided to dial up a blitz. Williams sent seven men after the quarterback and left just four in coverage and a little stutter step from receiver Henry Ruggs was all it took to get the space he needed to score a game-winning touchdown.

What possessed Williams to make the call no one will know, but what we do know is that it was his last as a New York Jet. After criticism from safety Marcus Maye and calls for his resignation from multiple members of the New York press, the team fired Williams on Monday.

The defensive coordinator cost the team a victory with a foolish play call at a crucial moment. Still, the Jets’ troubles are deeper and now it’s down to general manager Joe Douglas to clear the rest of the house and finally put his stamp on this team and bring some much-needed wins.

Elsewhere in the AFC East, the New England Patriots look to be returning to form as they managed to pick up their fourth win in five games by defeating the LA Chargers 45-0. The Miami Dolphins kept the pressure on the Bills as they won over 19-17 over Cincinnati.

Defending champions Kansas City Chiefs secured their sixth successive season in the playoffs by picking up win number 11 with a 22-16 victory over Denver.

The Cleveland Browns have secured their first winning season since 2007 with a comfortable win over Tennessee. The game ended 41-35, but the Browns led 38-7 at half time and always seemed in control.

The Detroit Lions repaid division rivals Chicago Bears for their early-season loss with a fourth-quarter comeback. The Lions, under the stewardship of interim head coach Darrell Bevell condemned the Bears to their sixth straight defeat.

The Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, remained in control of the NFC North with a 30-16 win over Philadelphia, with the main talking point being the benching of Carson Wentz, replaced by rookie Jalen Hurts.

The New York Giants took advantage of the Eagles’ woes as they surprised the Seahawks in Seattle. The game looked on paper like an easy win for the Seahawks, but they struggled offensively and eventually succumbed to a 17-12 loss, leaving the Giants with just five wins but a firm grip on the NFC East lead.

The LA Rams recovered from last week’s loss to the 49ers by beating NFC West rivals Arizona 38-28 and, coupled with the Seattle loss, have the lead in the west with just four weeks to go.

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