Todd Bowles, Jets players stand by offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates

There’s a chorus of naysayers rising up against Jets offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, but it doesn’t reside at 1 Jets Drive.

A day after an unbalanced and futile offensive performance against the Patriots, Todd Bowles stood by his man, saying he has no intention of shifting play-calling duties and going as far as to say he was pleased with how Bates performed Sunday.

Bowles also said he’s unsure if rookie quarterback Sam Darnold (strained foot) will be able to practice Wednesday or be able to play against the Titans in Nashville on Sunday. Josh McCown injured his right thumb Sunday, but Bowles said he’s good to go.

“I thought [Bates] called a good game,” Bowles said via conference call. “It’s everybody involved, it’s not just Jeremy. [It’s] the other coaches and it’s the players as well. We are all involved in that; it’s never pointed to one person.”

Though that may be true, Bates’ somewhat unconventional choices in the Jets’ 27-13 loss — and the general offensive inefficiency in their five-game losing streak, the longest in Bowles’ four-year reign — have led to a din of doubters. For one, Bates shelved the running game, opting to go for 47 passing plays (including two sacks) and only 15 runs. The Patriots, who allowed 150 yards rushing to the Titans in their previous game, might have faltered against Isaiah Crowell, who has 582 yards on 120 carries (4.9 average). On Sunday, Crowell had six carries for 30 yards.

“With the exception of the Buffalo loss, which was not a good day, it was just a guy here and there,” Bowles said. “We’re in the game into the fourth quarter, and we’ve got to close them out. Whether it’s one guy here or there or whether it’s execution or whether it’s something else or communication, we’re not closing them out, and we’ve got to close them out regardless of who it is or what side of the ball it’s on. We just haven’t been consistent in closing them out.”

The Jets, who were tied late in the third quarter before wilting, scored only one touchdown against New England despite netting 338 yards. In each of the four previous games, the Jets (3-8) amassed 282 or fewer yards, with the low point (199) coming in that 41-10 loss to the Bills.

“We had some things in place that we wanted to open up and go down the field more,” Bowles said, explaining Bates’ passing strategy. “I thought we had some things dialed up that were pretty good. They made some plays and we didn’t make enough of them.”

Spencer Long, who moved over from center and made his debut at guard, joined Bowles in support of Bates.

“We try to do the best we can with what we’re given,” Long said. “I know that he’s given his all, just like we are. We’re coming out and working hard every week to make improvements . . . We just haven’t been executing the way we need to.”

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.