New York Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg, whom the team selected in the second-round of the 2016 NFL Draft, had not had a solid preseason leading up to Thursday’s finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. He sat out Gang Green’s first two games and then turned in a rough performance against the New York Giants last week.
Unfortunately for both Hackenberg and the Jets, things didn’t get much better in the team’s 14-6 loss at the Linc.
Hackenberg finished the game going 11-of-31 for 54 yards and one interception. And in case you’re reading that stat line and assuming it must be a typo, it’s not — Hackenberg legitimately managed only 54 yards on 31 pass attempts.
In today’s NFL, it seems surreal that a quarterback could average less than two yards per attempt, but the wildly inaccurate Hackenberg managed to find a way. Comparatively, Hackenberg’s interception was returned 90 yards for a touchdown.
Even Eagles safety Ed Reynolds, who hauled in said interception, was dumbfounded by Hackenberg’s decision to toss the ball up as he was being brought down for a sack.
“I was just playing the route,” Reynolds told The Star-Ledger after the game. “And I was like, ‘there is now way he is throwing this ball.’ It just came and the rest just kind of happened.”
Hackenberg, who finished the game with a 30.1 quarterback rating, dismissed the stats and said he’ll simply learn from the film.
“I think the statistics are what they are,” Hackenberg said. “There is a lot that can be learned from the film, and that is something that we’ll go back and we’ll evaluate. Again, I was just very grateful for the opportunity to go out and get the reps.”
While the Jets expected early struggles with Hackenberg, it’s hard to believe they anticipated this level of ineptitude. As the preseason closes, there’s been little to nothing positive to glean from Hackenberg’s offensive reps.
Initially projected to be a short-term project, Hackenberg now appears to be a long-term top-to-bottom rebuild. And Jets fan can not possibly be happy about that considering the hefty investment the team made in landing him.
