3 takeaways from Jets vs. Saints in NFL Week 16
Jets cornerback Qwan'Tez Stiggers breaks up a pass intended for Saints wide receiver Chris Olave on Sunday. Credit: AP/Gerald Herbert
NEW ORLEANS — The Jets are stumbling toward the finish line. They’ve dropped their last three games by a combined 75 points.
Here are three takeaways from their 29-6 loss to the Saints:
1. The Jets set a futility record
Aaron Glenn had 24 interceptions when he played cornerback for the Jets. His team hasn’t gotten one under his watch.
It’s mind-boggling that the Jets have no picks in 15 games. That extends their own record for the most to start a season. It also established a record for most consecutive games without an interception during any stretch. The 49ers had 14 over two seasons.
“I hate the fact that we haven’t gotten an interception,” Glenn said, “but the thing is we got a turnover, and then we got a fourth-down stop. So those things are something that we can build on.
“I want the interceptions just like everybody else, but if we can get a turnover, that’s all I care about.”
The Jets’ defense had its third fumble recovery of the season and a fourth-down stand against the Saints. Considering how it has played, those are signs of progress.
“I guess [they] just haven’t been rolling our way yet as far as the interceptions,” Quincy Williams said. “But I know my guys will be ready when the interceptions come.”
2. Brady Cook holds on to the ball too long
It sounds as if Glenn is sticking with Cook even though Tyrod Taylor is healthy again. If so, Glenn and coordinator Tanner Engstrand have to make sure he gets rid of the ball more quickly. Not all eight of the Saints’ sacks were on the offensive line.
“That’s something that we all have to look at on tape and make sure we talk to him about, getting the ball out of your hands as quick as you can,” Glenn said. “We have to make sure we give him options to be able to do that. So that goes both ways.”
The Saints are not a high-sack team. They had one in the previous two games. Cook said he has to watch the video because “it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on in the moment. But yeah, at the end of the day, I need to get the ball out.”
3. The running game is regressing
The Jets ran for 64 yards and 3.2 per carry against a team that entered allowing 130.6 rushing yards per game. Teams are focusing on Breece Hall lately and he said it’s because defenses are trying to force Cook to make plays.
“That’s the tale of you have a rookie quarterback playing,” Hall said. “Like what else are you going to do other than stop the run and make him throw it on second-and-long or third down, whatever the case may be.”
Hall added that he and the other experienced offensive players have to be “super-efficient” to make things easier for Cook. If Cook completed more passes, it could open the running game, but the coaches also have to find a way to scheme things up better to keep defenses from taking the running game away.
The Jets, who had two first downs rushing wiped away by penalties, have been held to fewer than 79 yards rushing three times in five games, and they felt they did it to themselves.
“I felt like we were getting what we wanted for the most part on offense,” Hall said, “but it just wasn’t working out.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
