Expectations were low for the New York Jets heading into the 2025 NFL season. Few thought the team would end its then-fourteen year postseason drought. Fewer saw the Jets ending their then nine year streak of consecutive losing seasons.
Even despite the low expectations, this season has been quite a bit more difficult than many anticipated. Of course part of this is due to the team’s reduction in talent at the trade deadline. The Jets started the 2025 season with three legitimate stars. Two of them were sent out of town in trades. These deals have given the Jets resources to perhaps come out ahead in the future, but removing Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams hurt the team’s present.
The Jets have also been dealing with injuries. The defense the team put on the field in Week 15 resembles the type of personnel you would expect to see in the second half of a preseason game at some spots. In fact, a lot of these players were on the field at the end of Jets preseason games in August. On the offensive side of the ball, the three wide receivers who got the most snaps weren’t even on the roster in Week 1. The quarterback was an undrafted rookie who spent the bulk of the season on the practice squad.
I think you get my point. Nobody could have reasonably expected a victory over a quality Jacksonville Jaguars team that is playing good football.
Wins and losses aren’t created equal in the NFL, however.
Bill Parcells’ famous utterance, “You are what your record says you are,” has become one of the most overused cliches in NFL circles over the years. In certain instances it is correct. Those instances are mainly looking back at legacies. We remember the teams and players that won championships.
When it comes to figuring out whether a team is on the right track, however, the record doesn’t always tell the whole story. Of course a team that wants to be successful ultimately has to win games. A team that loses game after game can’t be a success.
The current Jets team can’t be entirely judged by the win-loss record, however. We know that for 2025 they are a bad, perhaps even awful NFL team. But bad teams can still make progress.
What was disappointing about this loss wasn’t just that the Jets were outscored. That had to be expected. No, it was how easy the Jets made things for Jacksonville.
I’m not going to get on Qwan’tez Stiggers for getting beaten one on one in coverage. He is an excellent special teamer. At this point of his career, he isn’t capable of playing cornerback at a high level in the NFL.
I won’t get on Brady Cook for throwing three interceptions. At best, Cook is a developmental prospect who was never meant to see the field. Unlike many of his teammates, he at least showed some toughness and desire to compete delivering passes while taking big hits.
The big point I’m making here is that it’s one thing for the Jets to be outexecuted because they just don’t have the talent.
What I can’t forgive are all of the mental errors. It felt like the Jets were busting coverages on practically every Trevor Lawrence passing attempt. It also felt like there were many moments where the team’s passion and yes, effort, were missing.
At this time of year, discussion of “building a culture” is practically a cliche. A team in theory can finish a season strong and gain momentum heading into the next season. In practice, a strong finish to one season doesn’t always carry over to the next.
More to the point for the Jets, these games are an opportunity to get young talent game reps to help with their development. That development won’t be aided by schemes they don’t seem to understand and seeing veteran teammates looking like they’ve mailed it in.
The firing of Steve Wilks after the game likely spoke volumes about Aaron Glenn’s view of how far things went off the rails. Wilks can’t be blamed for an undermanned team losing. He must, however, take blame for the defense’s lack of cohesion. I can’t speak for certain to whether the players tuned him out. What I will say is that if the Jets defense hadn’t tuned Wilks out, they did a heck of a job hiding it.
Three games are left in this lost season. Wins will be hard to come by with the roster the Jets are putting on the field. We can all at least hope for a bit more professionalism the rest of the way than what we saw in Week 15, though.
