Coming into the 2019 season the New York Jets had high expectations. They were looking forward to see franchise quarterback Sam Darnold take the next step in development,
Pro Bowl running back LeVeon Bell was a new addition and was expected to have a significant impact. The Jets had safety Jamal Adams leading a defense that showed a lot of promise.
The Jets are 4-8 as they prepare to take on the Miami Dolphins (3-8) a team walking on air after posting a stunning 37-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
First year head coach Adam Gase promised Jets fans their team would be playing meaningful games in December. The best this team can hope for is an eight-win season. The Jets will need to win their four final games to achieve that.
"Nobody is more disappointed than we are," said Gase said at his Wednesday press conference. "Things didn't work out for us this year. We couldn't get things rolling in the right direction. We lost our quarterback for three games, that set us back. We couldn't keep a core group healthy enough to really gain that chemistry. We have to find a way to get better these last for weeks. And do the right things. Prepare the right way, practice the right way, execute on Sunday, try to put one good game together, so we can win this week.”
That run starts this week against the team Gase coach for the last three seasons.
The Jets will need big game from Bell and Darnold. They can't do any worse than last week when Gang Green was shut out by the previously winless Cincinnati Bengals. Like any football game, the Jets will need to win the turnover battle.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had a Pro Bowl caliber game against the Eagles, has 11 interceptions and thrown just 13 touchdown passes. They cannot allow him to go off again.
That should not be that big of a challenge since Fitzpatrick is leading the Dolphins with 121 yards on 33 carries. This is an opportunity for Bell to go off. He must get more than 10 carries against Miami. The Jets offense line gave up four sacks last week.
It is up to Gase to get this team motivated for a run. New General Manager Joe Douglas will be looking at these games as an audition for the roster he puts together for 2020. It starts Sunday. *
The Jets-Dolphins game is at 1:00 PM (CBS)