Latest News: Aaron Rodgers, Jets Crushed by NFL Fans After Loss to Patriots with Maye Out Injured… See More

The calendar hasn’t even hit November yet, but the New York Jets can probably start making offseason plans for January.

The Jets, improbably, lost to the hapless New England Patriots on Sunday, 25-22, leaving them at 2-6 on the season. The Patriots have the exact same record.

It appeared as though New York might steal an ugly win after Aaron Rodgers led the team on a crucial, game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, culminating in Braelon Allen’s two-yard touchdown plunge with 2:57 remaining.

But the defense couldn’t hold from there, as the Pats cut through them with relative ease, Rhamondre Stevenson scored a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with just 22 seconds remaining, converted the two-point attempt himself as well and the Jets couldn’t get into field goal range before time expired.

Nothing about Sunday inspired much hope that New York—despite a collection of expensive talent across the roster—could turn its season around.

The team routinely struggled to get the plays in a time, resulting in badly burnt timeouts and delay-of-game penalties, including one on the two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter, which ultimately failed. Greg Zuerlein missed his sixth field of the season. The Jets didn’t force a single turnover. A passing game loaded with weapons largely sputtered, accumulating 224 yards, though Rodgers did throw for a pair of scores. The supposedly staunch defense couldn’t keep a passing game led by Jacoby Brissett and a bunch of receivers the average NFL fan has never heard of from driving down the field with the game in the balance.

It was all fair game for fans and pundits alike following the game, and they didn’t pull any punches:

How bad was this loss?

The Patriots didn’t even have starting quarterback Drake Maye in the second half after he was ruled out with a concussion. The Jets beat this same Patriots team in Week 3, 24-3, and that was before they had Davante Adams. It was also before they fired Robert Saleh.

And it was all completely avoidable. The Zuerlein miss and the inexplicable delay of game on the two-point conversion both were back-breakers. But both would have been a moot point if the Jets defense could have gotten a single stop to end the game.

Point the fingers wherever you choose. At this point, identifying the Jets’ issues is like throwing a dart at a board the size of the video screens in Times Square. No matter where you aim, you’ll land on a pain point.