The sunny talk of training camp ended on a rainy day at MetLife Stadium for the Jets.
After an offseason filled with hope, hype and heightened expectations, the Jets looked like … well the Jets on Sunday in a 24-9 season-opening loss to the Ravens.
It is the fourth straight season the Jets have started the season off with a loss and their NFL-record 13th straight loss in September. Sunday’s game was a mistake-filled, sloppy performance by Robert Saleh’s squad. There were drops, fumbles, an interception, special teams gaffes and the defense, which played well for most of the day, gave up a few huge plays.
“From dropped passes to being loose with the football to missed kicks, this is a game, in my opinion, that we absolutely lost,” Saleh said.
The Jets had 26 more plays than the Ravens and 104 more yards, but the Ravens made big plays and the Jets made big mistakes. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was not amazing but he did not have to be. Jackson threw three touchdown passes, one a 55-yarder and one a 25-yarder. The Ravens built a 21-point lead against a Jets team that could not get out of its own way for most of the day.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco (19) is hit by Ravens linebacker Justin Houston (50) in the first quarter. Bill Kostroun/New York PostJoe Flacco, who is starting in place of the injured Zach Wilson, did not play well but he also had little help. His receivers struggled to get open and then dropped key passes. The offensive line struggled in pass protection, allowing him to get hit 11 times. There were two key fumbles from tight end Tyler Conklin and running back Breece Hall that killed momentum. The Jets failed to convert on their first eight third-down tries, finishing the game 2-of-14 on third down.
Flacco threw 59 passes, the most by a Jets quarterback since Mark Sanchez in 2011. He completed 37 for 307 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Jets fans at the stadium were chanting for backup Mike White in the second half, but not many quarterbacks could have thrived in this situation.
The Jets reached Ravens territory five times in the game but came away with nine points. Their lone touchdown — a 3-yard pass from Flacco to Conklin — came with a minute left to play when the game had long been decided.
Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay (13) catches a touchdown pass over Jets cornerback Bryce Hall (37) in the second quarter. Bill Kostroun/New York PostAfter the game, Flacco indicated the Jets were too lackadaisical early in the game.
“We would get right around midfield on a couple of drives,” Flacco said, “and we should have had some energy going behind us and we kind of just, ‘Oh yeah, let’s go, let’s go up to the ball,’ and we just never turned the corner and got going off of some of those plays that we did have.”
There were a few key mistakes that killed the Jets:
- Flacco threw an interception to Ravens safety Marcus Williams after Jets tight end Lawrence Cager, the intended receiver, fell down. The Ravens kicked a field goal on the ensuing series.
- On third-and-5 on the Ravens 27 at the end of the first half, Conklin caught a 6-yard pass for the first down, but he fumbled and the ball rolled back toward the line of scrimmage. Garrett Wilson recovered it, but ended up back at the 27 and the Jets had to kick a field goal.
- The Jets were driving early in the fourth quarter when Hall fumbled at the Ravens 15 and Baltimore recovered.
The offense was not the only unit that had issues. New kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a field goal and an extra point.
On defense, the Jets did well early against the Ravens but a Lamarcus Joyner pass interference penalty in the second quarter cost them 32 yards and put Baltimore at the Jets 30. Jackson found Devin Duvernay for a 25-yard touchdown over cornerback Bryce Hall to put the Ravens up 10-0.
Robert Saleh reacts during the Jets’ loss to the Ravens. Charles Wenzelberg
Punter Braden Mann had a 20-yard punt in the third quarter that set the Ravens up at the Jets 44. Jackson needed six plays before connecting with Duvernay again for a 17-yard touchdown and a 17-3 lead. On Baltimore’s next series, Jackson threw a 55-yard strike to Rashod Bateman, who got behind the Jets’ defense.
“I honestly think we played very well against a playoff team,” Joyner said. “If you eliminate those mistakes, those explosives, then who knows where the game is right now.”
The 0-1 Jets now go to Cleveland to face Jacoby Brissett and the Browns. The Jets maintained after the game Sunday that they still believe that the preseason hope was not wrong.
“I know everything is thinking, ‘Same old s–t,’ ” Conklin said. “But it’s not the same old s–t. We’ve got a good team.”
Lamar Jackson passes during the Ravens’ win over the Jets. Charles WenzelbergJoyner said they can fix the problems from Sunday.
“I don’t feel like we’re same Jets,” Joyner said. “I feel like we have to clean up our mistakes. It was Week 1. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went to the Super Bowl [in 2020] and they lost six games. They all weren’t pretty. I don’t remember the last time someone played 17 perfect games or a team went perfect other than the [1972] Dolphins. We’ll clean it up and get better.”
The Ravens are a perennial contender and looked like they will be again on Sunday. The Jets felt they went blow-for-blow with them but they can’t make as many errors as they had in Week 1.
“You have to eliminate that [stuff] before we can even give ourselves a chance,” wide receiver Corey Davis, who dropped a third-down pass early in the game, said. “We’re moving the ball and there’s drops or whatever and that starts with me. I’ve got to be better. We’ve all got to be better.”
