Costello’s Call
The Jets played better and nearly beat the Patriots two weeks ago, but the Chargers offense is clicking and rookie Justin Herbert is going to carve up a weak Jets secondary. The Jets will fall to 0-10 and move one step closer to a winless season.
Chargers 33, Jets 14
Marquee matchup
Chargers QB Justin Herbert vs. Jets secondary
Herbert has gotten off to a great start as a rookie, leading the No. 4 offense in the NFL. He has thrown multiple touchdown passes in six straight games, a rookie record. He has 19 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season. The only thing he has not done is win. The Chargers have only won one of his eight starts.
Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is going to have a challenge slowing Herbert down. The Jets have a very inexperienced secondary outside of safety Marcus Maye. Ashtyn Davis will be making his third start at safety and fellow rookie Bryce Hall is expected to make his first start at cornerback. Lamar Jackson is expected to start on the other side after the team placed Bless Austin on IR on Saturday with a neck injury.
Blitzing won’t faze Herbert either. He has a 124.2 rating against the blitz this season.
“[He’s] doing a good job of using the guys around him, giving those guys legit 50-50 balls that they’re coming down with quite a bit,” Jets coach Adam Gase said of Herbert. “Doing a good job not turning the ball over, really using their system to his advantage.”
Four Downs
Hunting for Herndon: Remember the preseason talk about this being a potential monster year for tight end Chris Herndon? That could not have been more far off. Herndon has been missing in action for most of the season. He has just 14 catches for 101 yards. In the past four games, he has just one catch, and he ended up fumbling the ball after that catch in Kansas City. Herndon’s last touchdown came nearly two years ago — Dec. 23, 2018, against the Packers.
Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains stuck up for Herndon this week, saying he has done a good job blocking.
“I know that everyone wants to judge somebody based on the receptions and their stat total, but Chris can’t be held accountable for that,” Loggains said. “Chris is doing the job that we asked him to do, and he’s doing it really well. … We asked him to block people that a lot of tight end can’t block. We do think he’s a good pass receiver as well, we just haven’t asked him to be in that role right now.”
Bolts Blues: The Chargers have found new and creative ways to lose games this year. All seven of their losses have been one-score games. That is timed for the most in a team’s first nine games, per Elias Sports Bureau. It ties them with the 2015 Ravens, 1983 Buccaneers and the 1944 Brooklyn Tigers.
Los Angeles is currently in a three-game losing streak. The 0-9 Jets have been a cure all for losing streaks this season. The Chargers will be the latest to hope they can end their skid against the Jets.
“Together we have to figure out ways to finish games,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “We’ve been up a lot this year, two and three scores at times, and haven’t put games away. It’s not one phase. It’s all three phases. As a unit, we have to figure that out.”
History making: The Jets are setting all kinds of franchise records you do not want to set. Their nine-game losing streak is the second-longest in franchise history and the longest within one season. They lost 12 straight games over the span of two seasons in 1995-96. Their loss to the Patriots also ensured a fifth straight losing season, something that has never happened before in franchise history.
Everyone can safely assume the Jets are going to miss the playoffs, but it can become official with a loss today and a few other results around the league. That would stretch the team’s playoff drought to 10 seasons, the second-longest in franchise history. The team missed the playoffs in 11 straight seasons from 1970-80.
I love L.A.: The Jets will play their first game in Los Angeles in nearly 30 years. The team last played in the City of Angels on Oct. 10, 1993, a 24-20 loss to the Raiders. The Jets blew a 17-point lead that day. The Raiders and Rams moved out of Los Angeles after the 1994 season. The Rams returned in 2016 and the Chargers moved there in 2017, but the Jets have not faced either team there yet. The Jets won’t wait long to make their next visit. They face the Rams in Los Angeles in four weeks.