Tim Boyle makes no difference as Jets embarrassed again in loss to Dolphins
OK, so maybe all of it wasn’t Zach Wilson’s fault.
The Jets changed quarterbacks on Friday, but could not change the results.
They lost their fourth straight game, a 34-13 clunker to the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium.
It was the first-ever NFL game on Black Friday, but the Jets still could not buy an offensive touchdown until garbage time when it was all but over.
The Jets’ defense scored as many touchdowns as their offense.
It left the Jets again frustrated and searching for answers.
“It’s been hard to get open space and get some good looks,” running back Breece Hall said. “It’s just a lot of guys pressing right now, just trying press and make a play every time you get the ball and that’s not good because that causes little mistakes. I’ve been making mistakes that I’ve never made in my career. It’s frustrating, bro.”
The game featured more putrid offense from the Jets and an unbelievable play to end the first half, even by their standards.
Tim Boyle, who proved to be ineffective playing instead of Wilson, threw a Hail Mary to end the half that turned into a Flail Mary when Dolphins safety Jevon Holland intercepted the pass at the 1-yard line and then returned it 99 yards through the Jets offense for a touchdown.
The play came less than a minute from when the Jets had the first signs of life all day, a pick-six of their own by cornerback Brandin Echols that cut the Miami lead to 10-6.
But instead of heading into halftime feeling good about that, Holland’s touchdown return made it 17-6 and any momentum the Jets had from Echols was gone.
“We’re trying to score,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “We have an opp, defense makes a great play, gives us a chance and obviously, we’ve been in a tough spot. Let’s go get a shot. Let’s throw it at the end zone, see what happens. It goes so wrong, man. It goes so wrong. That’s one of those things where I feel like that could describe a lot of things.”
The loss drops the Jets to 4-7, putting their playoff hopes on life support.
“Yeah, you think what, to get in the playoffs you’ve got to win nine or 10. So, we don’t have much time to waste,” tight end Tyler Conklin said.
The Dolphins improved to 8-3 as they close in on an AFC East crown.
The Jets’ lone offensive touchdown of the game came with 4:37 left in the game when they were down by 21 points.
They now have 10 offensive touchdowns in 11 games this season.
Coach Robert Saleh benched Wilson after a dismal day in Buffalo last week, but Boyle struggled in his first Jets start, going 27-for-38 for 179 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
He was sacked seven times.
No matter what changes the Jets make to their offense, nothing works.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett went from the sideline to the booth to call plays last week and that hasn’t worked.
The Jets benched wide receiver Allen Lazard on Sunday and that did nothing.
The Jets failed to convert their first eight third down conversions on Friday after going 0-for-11 against the Bills.
The Jets were outgained 395-159 in the game.
The Jets only had 29 rushing yards.
“Is that a trick question?” Conklin joked when asked if he felt the offense was getting any closer. “No, I’m just kidding obviously. I do think Tim did a good job commanding things out there. I’m proud of him for that.”
Saleh said he is not considering taking play-calling duties away from Hackett.
He also said he was “not there yet” when asked if they might go to Trevor Siemian next week at quarterback.
The Dolphins came into the game with the No. 1 offense in football, and while the Jets defense slowed them down for a while, they could not stop them.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went 21-for-30 for 243 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Miami had two 100-yard receivers.
Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 114 yards and Tyreek Hill had nine catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
The Dolphins jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
With the Jets offense doing nothing, it was evident the defense would have to win the game.
It looked like they had a chance when Echols picked off Tagovailoa and went 30 yards to the end zone to make it a 10-6 game after Greg Zuerlein missed the point after try.
D.J. Reed then intercepted Tagovailoa with two seconds left in the first half at the Jets’ 49-yard line, setting up one last heave by Boyle.
The Flail Mary dropped just before the end zone and fell into Holland’s hands.
He ran from the Jets sideline across the field and avoided a tackle by lineman Max Mitchell and then juked Boyle before outracing Garrett Wilson for the stunning 99-yard touchdown and a 17-6 lead at halftime.
“We were kind of surprised we were going in for the Hail Mary,” Hall said. “We just have to go in and whatever play your coaches call, it might not be the best play at the time but if you can execute it, you can execute it. We didn’t execute.”
Hall later said he was happy the coaches trusted them and he supported the coaches.
The Jets’ issue may be simply they are outmanned right now on offense.
The starting offense had six backups, including the third-string quarterback and three rookies.
“I love our guys. Everybody’s trying,” Hall said. “You can appreciate everybody’s trying. It sucks that we’re not getting the result we want. We can’t just put a new team together overnight.”
