The Jets have acknowledged there is an issue and have had time to look under the hood to fix it.
If they want to jump-start their offense, right away is the time to do it.
Their first-quarter and first-half struggles through five games (and four losses) are difficult to fathom. In the first quarter, they have been outscored 30-0. In the first half of games, they are losing 75-13.
Zach Wilson is 5-for-18 for 34 yards in the first quarter this year with more interceptions (two) than first downs passing (one). His QB rating goes from a flat 0 in the first quarter to 35.2 in the second, before it becomes a more competent 87.4 in the second half, when the Jets have been scrambling to creep back into games.
Coming out of the bye week, head coach Robert Saleh addressed the slow-starting offense and said the team would make “subtle” changes for Sunday’s matchup in Foxborough against the Patriots.
Neither he nor offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur have wanted to divulge exactly what those changes would be, but shorter passes to get Wilson going would make sense. The Jets quarterback is averaging 12.89 yards per attempt through the air in the first quarter, according to ESPN, the second longest in the NFL. According to LaFleur, the deeper air attack is a result of the defenses they have played.
“You always want to get a guy in rhythm, but you also have to take into account what the defense is giving you,” LaFleur said Thursday. “There’s certain defenses out there that we’ve played that they don’t necessarily give you all those short passes.”
And after the Jets have buried themselves in the first halves, defenses have given them more to work with to avoid surrendering big plays. Wilson has thrown for 510 yards in the fourth quarter.
Wilson sees a problem, but he didn’t think major changes had to be made.
“One thing is we just haven’t had that many plays,” Wilson said. “I think that’s kind of been dogging us a little bit, so I think one thing is we just got to keep focusing on execution.”
In five games, they have run 42 first-quarter plays, which Wilson said has been “killing us.”
“It’s hard to do much when that’s all you’re having,” the rookie said.
LaFleur said the first 24 plays from the offense are scripted, but not in an order; they will pick from those two-dozen choices as the game starts.
And hope they will have better luck than the first time around against the Patriots, when they were down 10-0 after the first quarter.
“I put it on myself to find a way to get [Wilson] in that rhythm to find those easy completions,” LaFleur said.
Wilson talked recently with Elijah Moore, the training-camp star who has recorded just eight catches for 66 yards in four games played.
“Dude, just keep doing your thing, I’m going to get you the ball,” Wilson said he told this year’s second-round pick.
While second-year receiver Denzel Mims has not been able to see the field, Moore has not been able to hook up much with Wilson. Wilson said the reads just have not dictated enough targets toward Moore, but he thinks that will change.
“That connection is going to be there for a long time,” Wilson said. “He’s going to get his opportunities.”
TE Tyler Kroft (back) and LB C.J. Mosley (hamstring) did not practice. Safeties Marcus Maye (ankle) and Adrian Colbert (concussion), DL Nathan Shepherd (knee) and WR Jeff Smith (concussion) were full participants.