Jets grades: Satisfactory game all around
Chris Ivory #33 of the New York Jets runs the ball in the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OFFENSE
C Chris Ivory scored two TDs but the Jets' rushing attack struggled for the third straight week. Against the Jaguars, who entered allowing a league-low 3.52 yards a carry, Ivory had just 26 yards on 23 attempts and the Jets had 29 net yards on 28 tries. Eric Decker made six catches for 79 yards and a TD. Brandon Marshall had only four catches for 44 yards, but he hauled in the pull-away score (a 20-yard TD pass from Fitzpatrick). But overall, there were too many stalled drives and missed opportunities.
DEFENSE
CThe oldest guy on the team made the biggest play. Calvin Pace thwarted a potential comeback by the Jaguars when he sacked Blake Bortles, stripped the ball and recovered it with 5:16 left. But had the defense not given up so many big plays to the Jags (436 total yards), the Jets wouldn't have needed late-game heroics. Marcus Williams rebounded from his rough start in Oakland with two interceptions and rookie Lorenzo Mauldin made the first two sacks of his career.
Buster Skrine had a rough game, which he admitted. "I put that series on myself," he said of the Jaguars' last TD drive. "I gave up two seam routes. I knew they were running them, they completed them. I should have picked that ball off in the end zone. I missed the ball."
SPECIAL TEAMS
BRyan Quigley was called into action after Nick Folk (quad strain) was unable to kick field goals or extra points. He did a decent job, hitting on all four of his PATs. Quigley pinned the Jags inside the 20 three times, but he also had punts of 29, 30 and 31 yards, the latter helped set up a Jaguars score before the half. Cornerback Antonio Cromartie provided a big boost by returning a kickoff 54 yards -- his longest since his rookie season in San Diego (2006).
COACHING
BThe same issues -- defensive breakdowns, questionable play-calling and clock management -- cropped up. Injuries no doubt affected decision-making on certain downs, but Bowles and Chan Gailey often seem content to sit on the ball and let the clock run out. Give them credit, though, for mixing it up on special teams with Cromartie and Jeff Cumberland.
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