Robert Saleh says players, coaches share blame for Jets' red-zone futility in loss to Vikings
Jets head coach Robert Saleh speaks during a news conference after an NFL game against the Vikings on Sunday in Minneapolis. Credit: AP/Bruce Kluckhohn
The Jets’ offense was frustrated by its lack of success in the red zone on Sunday, and Robert Saleh says players and coaches share in the blame.
Six second-half trips to the red zone resulted in one touchdown in a 27-22 loss to the Vikings.
“There’s always going to be things that we could have done better, whether it was alignments, a call, execution, strain, whatever you want to call it,” Saleh said. “It just wasn’t a good day in the red zone.”
The one that drew the most attention, second-guessing and criticism directed at coordinator Mike LaFleur was the drive that ended with Braxton Berrios dropping a potential 1-yard touchdown pass on the Jets’ next-to-last series.
Saleh said on third-and-goal from the 1, it was a run-pass option. Mike White threw it in the corner of the end zone for Garrett Wilson, but he slipped and never got there.
On fourth down, the Jets went with an empty backfield, and White hit Berrios. The throw was a little behind him, but Berrios had it in his hands and dropped it.
“It’s call your best play, call your best possible play that you’ve been working on, the one that’s going to find a way to get open,” Saleh said. “We had a guy open. It just didn’t work out.
“You can say, ‘It’s a little bit off. Catch the ball,’ whatever it is. Can Mike [LaFleur] think the same thing: Can you put a guy in the backfield to show run? Sure. Any time something doesn’t work, you’re always going to want to hit the rewind button.
“At that moment, you got to stick to your preparation, stick to what you’ve done. What is the best thing we could call at this moment? That’s what we went with . . . We always challenge ourselves as coaches. That was a play we were excited about. It just didn’t work out.”
Bam impressing
Zonovan “Bam” Knight is showing he deserves to be in the game plan even after Michael Carter returns from an ankle injury.
Knight led the Jets with 90 yards rushing and caught five passes for 28 yards. He’s one of two undrafted rookies since 1970 to record at least 69 yards rushing and 28 receiving in back-to-back games. The other is Jets teammate James Robinson, who did it for Jacksonville in 2020.
“He’s been great,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “He runs tough. I think he’s been a really good addition.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
