NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Each week, the New York Jets sink a little lower. Each week, their glaring warts are on full display. They can’t score touchdowns, their defense crumbles in big spots and they commit dumb penalties. Worst of all? They’ve been infected by a losing mentality, the type of virus that can ruin teams and ruin seasons.
It was on full display Sunday at Nissan Stadium, where the Jets came unglued in the second half and fell to the Tennessee Titans, 26-22 — their sixth straight loss. This was brutal. The Jets led 16-0, but they played as if they expected something bad to happen.
And it did. Over and over.
Did anyone actually believe the Jets (3-9) would hold on for a win? Of course not. They’re a bad team with no confidence and no discipline, as they did everything possible to blow a game that should’ve been wrapped up in the first half.
The last time they blew a 16-point lead was Week 2 of the 2014 season. But that was against Aaron Rodgers; this was against Marcus Mariota and a mediocre Tennessee team.
They were an utter disgrace. Jets coach Todd Bowles has suffered a lot of painful defeats in his career, and this had to be one of the worst. He’s Dead Man Coaching, as the Jets have lost 18 of their last 23 games. This was the kind of game that gets coaches fired, but ownership apparently will wait until the bitter end to relieve Bowles of his duties.
The Jets led at halftime 16-6, but they collapsed due to a variety of reasons. The secondary allowed too many chunk plays and the offense disappeared completely with help from coordinator Jeremy Bates, who called an end-around on a third-and-5 in the fourth quarter. It failed miserably, just like everything else they tried.
Oh, yeah, let’s not forget about the penalties. The Jets committed a season-high 11 penalties, contributing to the meltdown. A facemask penalty on linebacker Frankie Luvu was an absolute killer, setting up the Titans’ winning touchdown.
The Titans scored the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left, an 11-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis. It was the Titans’ first third-down conversion of the game and their first lead of the game.
The Jets took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter, but their offense played dead. Josh McCown, who started his third game for the injured Sam Darnold, failed to lead a single touchdown drive. McCown passed for 282 yards and threw a late interception to seal the defeat. Running back Isaiah Crowell, who complained last week about the play calling, was a bright spot with 98 rushing yards.
Big deal. It didn’t amount to anything.
The Jets started with a 7-0 lead, thanks to a pick-six by Trumaine Johnson — their first takeaway in six games. They blocked a punt and blocked a PAT, doing weird things to stay in the lead. You know things are bad when the best player on the team is the kicker — Jason Myers, who kicked five field goals.