Rex Ryan is no stranger to his New York Jets being embarrassed at home by the New England Patriots. Last season, the Patriots traveled to New York and beat the Jets by a score of 37-16. Thursday’s loss was even uglier, as New England dominated in all phases of the game en route to a 49-19 Thanksgiving Day loss on national television.
If you thought the Jets had questions heading into Thursday night, look at them now. The loss to the Patriots dropped their record to 4-7 on the season and virtually erased any hope Gang Green had of making the playoffs. Jets fans chanted loudly for Tim Tebow at various points throughout the night. Mark Sanchez turned the ball over twice, but he was hardly the only issue as New York’s defense was a sieve and its special teams unit looked lost.
Now, Ryan has to be left wondering if he will keep his job at the end of the season. Rex is known as a defensive mastermind, yet the Jets’ defense has gotten progressively worse since it was a dominant force in 2009 and 2010. After being blown out by the Patriots, the Jets are now allowing a whopping 26.4 points per game on the season. When you couple that with an offense that has largely been anemic, you have a recipe for a lot of losses — seven of them in 11 games to be exact.
The fans and the media seem to dwell on the Sanchez vs. Tim Tebow debate, but that is hardly New York’s only issue. Sanchez may have committed two costly turnovers on Thursday night, but Tebow would not have saved the Jets given the way they played. A select number of anonymous players have once again made sure the Jets have locker room issues this year, and they are all but certain to miss the playoffs for a second straight season. Ryan led his team to back-to-back playoff appearances in his first two seasons in New York, but Jets fans have already forgotten about that. Perhaps its time for the team to move on from not only its quarterback but also its head coach.
