Jets' fourth-down miscue involving Kellen Davis and Eric Decker was a mix-up
New York Jets tight end Kellen Davis (47) watches a crucial fourth-down pass go past him during the fourth quarter of a game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 12, 2015. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
Exactly what went wrong on the Jets' fourth-down play involving Kellen Davis? A lot, apparently.
"That's something we discussed internally," Jets coach Todd Bowles said on a conference call Friday, referring to the fourth-and-4 play from the Bills' 7-yard line with 3:02 left in Thursday night's 22-17 loss.
"We know what went wrong. I'm not going to sit here and throw anybody under the bus. But we understand exactly what went wrong here and we addressed it."
After a botched Bills snap on a punt gave the Jets the ball at Buffalo's 13 with 5:12 to go, they picked a bad time to stall. They failed to convert on second-and-2 from the 5 and Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn't connect with Davis in the end zone on fourth-and-4. Instead, his throw sailed over the tight end's head, resulting in another squandered opportunity in a failed comeback.
Asked about the play afterward, Davis said he got jammed on his release and that he and teammate Eric Decker then bumped into each other. "I didn't see the ball until it was already past me," Davis said.
So why was Davis, who has one catch this season, the intended target on the play? "There was more involved than that. It wasn't just a play to Kellen Davis," Bowles said. "Again, we addressed it in our meeting and there was a mix-up there."
That wasn't the only miscue for the Jets. On the play before the fourth-down incompletion, the Jets tried to run a pick play to spring Decker, but on third-and-3 from the Bills' 6, tight end Jeff Cumberland bumped into Decker instead of the defender. The result was a completion to Decker for a 1-yard loss.
"It was a scheme thing," Bowles said. "There were a couple of people that messed that up and we addressed that in the meeting this morning. There were a lot of mix-ups in a bunch of routes at the end of the day . . . "
Notes & quotes: Fitzpatrick had surgery to repair ligament damage in his left thumb and is expected to be ready for the Nov. 22 game at Houston . . . Zac Stacy had season-ending ankle surgery . . . The swelling in Willie Colon's knee was so severe that the Jets had no choice but to put him on injured reserve. "That's probably one of the hardest things I've had to do because he's such a warrior," Bowles said . . . Lineman Lawrence Okoye and defensive tackle T.J. Barnes were signed to the practice squad and cornerback Jeremy Harris was released from the practice squad.
