MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Another miserable loss in another miserable Jets season.
This week, the Jets blew an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost 32-26 in overtime to the Dolphins.
There was not much suspense left, but this loss officially eliminates the Jets from playoff contention and drops them to 3-10 this year.
Their playoff drought has now hit 14 years, the longest in North American major sports.
On Sunday, the Jets blew their fifth game this season when leading in the fourth quarter.
They are a team that is allergic to closing out games.
They fell to 0-7 this season in games decided by six points or less.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to stop being losers, period,” a frustrated Garrett Wilson said in the postgame locker room.
It felt like this could be the Jets’ day.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws a pass against the Dolphins on Dec. 8, 2024. Sam Navarro-Imagn ImagesThey put together their best offensive day of the season, rolling up 402 yards.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 339 yards, the first time he has thrown for 300 yards since the 2021 season.
They had a 23-15 lead early in the fourth quarter and then put together an 11-play drive that ended with Anders Carlson kicking a 42-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter to take a 26-23 lead.
Carlson then mishit the ensuing kickoff and instead of booting deep into the end zone, kicked it to the 1.
Malik Washington returned it 45 yards to the Miami 46.
The Dolphins gained 20 yards on six plays and Jason Sanders kicked a 52-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 26-26 and send it into overtime.
The Dolphins got the ball to start overtime and sliced through the Jets defense.
They went 70 yards in a little under four minutes with Tua Tagovailoa finding tight end Jonnu Smith for a 10-yard touchdown to end it.
It was the third straight game in which the Jets led in the fourth quarter only to collapse.
Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill (10) celebrates a touchdown against the Jets on Dec. 8, 2024. AP“When you’re up in the fourth quarter, all of a sudden it starts to feel like you have a losing problem,” Wilson said. “It’s like you have a gene or some [expletive].
“It’s not like we’re just going out there and getting our butt beat from start to finish. No, no, no. We have a chance to go win the game. We’re supposed to win the game. The odds are in our favor and we’re finding a way to lose the game. It’s just frustrating, for sure.”
The Dolphins improved to 6-7 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
This was the ninth straight time the Jets have lost at Hard Rock Stadium.
This stadium has been a house of horrors for the Jets and that continued Sunday.
Jets wide receiver Davante Adams catches a touchdown against the Dolphins on Dec. 8, 2024. APThe Jets now have four games left to finish out this awful season that began with people talking about Super Bowls.
Now, the question is whether the Jets can get a good enough draft pick to land one of the top quarterbacks.
“We just didn’t figure out how to win enough games,” said Rodgers, the team’s current quarterback. “I didn’t play good enough in some crunch times and that’s why we’re sitting here with the record we got.”
Sunday was another example of the Jets making just enough mistakes to give the other team a chance.
There was a killer penalty — this time a pass interference penalty on D.J. Reed that set the Dolphins up at the 8-yard line before scoring the touchdown that tied the game at 23-23 early in the fourth quarter.
There was Rodgers taking a sack as the Jets were trying to get in field goal position.
There was Davante Adams going out of bounds and stopping the clock with 56 seconds left to give the Dolphins the extra time they needed for the game-tying field goal.
It all adds up to a bad football team playing bad football when it matters most and it is the story of the 2024 New York Jets.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (r.) celebrates with running back Isaiah Davis (l.) after a touchdown against the Dolphins on Dec. 8, 2024. Getty Images“We’ve got to find a way to finish and close these things out,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “We’ve got to be at our best when our best is required and we’re not getting that accomplished and I’ve got to look at myself first.”
The Jets defense that was supposed to be the strength of this team did not force a turnover or even get a quarterback hit, never mind a sack, of Tagovailoa, who threw 47 passes.
For the third straight week, they could not stop the opposing offense in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
The Jets offense actually had their most productive game of the season.
Both Wilson (114 yards) and Adams (109 yards) had big days and things were clicking with Rodgers.
The Jets trailed 15-13 at halftime and then controlled the third quarter and took a 23-15 lead entering the fourth quarter.
For three quarters, it looked like how everyone imagined it would back in training camp.
Then, winning time arrived and the Jets did what they do — lost.
“One of my takeaways from this [season] is we’ve got to be ready when the season comes,” Wilson said. “Winning the offseason is winning the offseason. Winning training camp is winning training camp. Let’s win when it matters.”






