The New York Jets’ final defensive playcall in their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders was so bad that even the team’s own players didn’t hold back with their disapproval.
Ahead 28-24 with 13 seconds left and the Raiders at New York’s 46 yard line, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams opted to rush seven despite the obvious Hail Mary situation. That left Raiders speedster Henry Ruggs alone one-on-one against cornerback Lamar Jackson with no safety help. Ruggs beat Jackson for a 46-yard go-ahead touchdown.
After the game, even Jets players weren’t shy about making their feelings about Williams’ playcall clear.
Quarterback Sam Darnold, when asked about the playcall and then whether Jets players were angry with Williams over it, gave the same response both times, via Connor Hughes of The Athletic: “It is what it is.”
Veteran safety Marcus Maye took things a step further. Maye told reporters four times that the defense “should have been in a better call,” and openly criticized Williams for putting players in a bad spot.
“We have to execute, but you have to help us out at the same time,” Maye said of Williams.
You cannot blame the players for being so upset about the call. This is a winless team that likely would have pulled off the victory had Williams called for a more conventional coverage scheme in that situation. You can really only sympathize with the players in that situation who knew how stupid the call was but couldn’t do anything but try to execute it.
How bad was Williams’ decision? It was bad enough that these respected voices actually accused him of trying to throw the game with it.
