The New York Jets suffered a disheartening loss at home, succumbing 10-9 to the Denver Broncos in a game marked by an unusual flurry of penalties that bogged down the team's performance. The Jets now stand at a 2-2 record for the 2024 season.
Penalty Troubles Plague Jets
In what can only be described as a penalty-ridden affair, the Jets committed an NFL-high 13 penalties during their Week 4 defeat. Disturbingly, eight of these infractions were committed by the offense, placing them as the second-most penalized offensive unit of the week, trailing only behind the Houston Texans, who committed nine penalties. A significant portion of these penalties stemmed from false starts—five in total.
Left guard John Simpson and running back Breece Hall were each flagged for two false starts, while left tackle Tyron Smith contributed one more to the tally. This performance marked a stark departure from the Jets' relatively disciplined start to the season; they had only one false start violation over the first three weeks and a combined total of eight offensive penalties from Weeks 1 to 3, which was tied for the 10th-fewest in the league.
Voices from the Locker Room
Head coach Robert Saleh addressed the troubling trend in his post-game comments. "We got to figure it out. Whether or not we're good enough to handle or ready enough to handle all the cadence. Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously today took a major step back," Saleh remarked, emphasizing the unexpected nature of the setbacks.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a veteran known for his precise hard count, also expressed his dismay but struck a somewhat optimistic note. "That's one way to do it. The other way is to hold them accountable. We haven't had an issue. We've only had one false start. [Right tackle] Morgan had one false start I believe until this. You know it's been a weapon. We use it every day in practice. We rarely have a false start. To have five today it seemed like, four or five. Yeah, it seems like an outlier. I don't know if we need to make mass changes based on kind of an outlier game," Rodgers said.
Expert Analysis
Former NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly underscored the potency of Rodgers' hard count, highlighting its historical effectiveness. "He nailed it: 'my hard count is a weapon.' The amount of big plays, go ask Jordy Nelson. 'Hey Jordy, do you think the hard count that Aaron Rodgers has is effective?' He would say, 'Yeah, I got paid a lot of money on go balls that Aaron threw me after a defensive lineman jumped offsides.'"
Echoing Rodgers' sentiments on attention to detail, former Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams added, "Aaron is all about the attention to detail. So, snap count, that's attention to detail. You got to be locked in on something like that. We always talked about in Green Bay 'that the play is hard enough to win on its own, so let's not lose it pre-snap.' ... At least let's get our pre-snap operation smooth. Everybody hears the same snap count in the huddle, so there's really no excuse for one of these things. Holding people accountable, I agree (with Rodgers). Sometimes that's what you have to do versus run from it. Have certain consequences if guys can't get right."
Critical Miss and Moving Forward
Amid the chaos of penalties, the Jets had a chance to clinch the game, but their hopes were dashed when kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard, go-ahead field goal with just 51 seconds left on the clock. This miss encapsulated a day of missed opportunities and costly errors for the team.
As the Jets look to regroup, the focus will undoubtedly be on refining their pre-snap discipline and avoiding such a penalty-laden performance in future games. The challenge will be to harness Rodgers' renowned hard count as a strategic advantage without tripping over their own feet. The road ahead remains tough, but the talent is there; it's now a matter of execution and discipline.