The New York Jets’ struggles during the 2024 season have been caused by a variety of factors.
Despite entering the year with optimism, believing the right pieces were in place, nothing has gone right for the franchise. Blaming any one player or unit wouldn’t be fair, as the failure has been a team-wide issue from the start.
In their Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the Jets made critical errors on offense. While Aaron Rodgers was only sacked once, he fumbled on the play, allowing the Rams to score the go-ahead touchdown. Throughout the season, the offense has been plagued by miscommunications and a lack of cohesion. On Sunday, key mistakes, like untimely drops and turnovers on downs, occurred at the worst moments, leading to a 19-9 loss. Each turnover provided the Rams with an opportunity to score, often leaving the defense in difficult positions, either defending a short field or dealing with sudden changes in possession.
This lack of execution has been costly, as Rodgers has struggled to elevate his play to help the offense succeed, contributing to several frustrating defeats.
Sunday’s game was another example of this, and a stat shared by Rich Cimini of ESPN highlights how close the Jets have been to turning things around in 2024. Despite outgaining the Rams 321-242 in total yardage, the Jets still lost. This marked the sixth consecutive game in which New York outgained their opponent but failed to win, the longest such streak since the Jacksonville Jaguars did so nine times in 2021. The Jets are now 1-6 when outgaining their opponents, illustrating just how difficult the season has been.
When one area of the team performs well, another falls short. The offense can move the ball, but the defense struggles to stop the opposition, or, as in Sunday’s game, the defense does its best despite disadvantages, but the offense fails to capitalize, with kicking issues resurfacing.
Such inefficiency would be a challenge for any team, but for the Jets, dealing with numerous injuries and an interim head coach, the situation has become even more difficult to overcome.