Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson are suddenly major Jets concerns

The Jets lost an ugly, ugly 10-9 game to the Broncos on Sunday in the rain to drop to 2-2 this season. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:

1. This was a terrible loss for the Jets. They had an opponent they were favored to beat who had a rookie quarterback making his fourth start. The game was at home. The Jets had a long rest after beating the Patriots on Thursday night with no travel for two weeks. It was all set up for a victory.

Instead, they fell on their faces.

Now, the question is how they respond to this. Look, I get the reaction to this loss. I understand fans want Robert Saleh fired and Nathaniel Hackett banished. Everyone needs to take a breath. This is one game. The Jets looked pretty good over their previous six quarters against the Patriots and Titans. You can’t forget that.

But … the Jets have to make sure this was a blip on the radar screen of a long, long season and not an omen of what is to come this year. They have to get the penalties cleaned up. That falls on Saleh and his coaches. They have to get the offense playing together. They have looked out of sync for much of the first four weeks. Things worked against the Patriots and they’ve had some other really good drives but overall this is not how an offense with this much talent should look.

It could be early-season kinks that need to be worked out and that is understandable. The Jets have a lot of new pieces on offense and the starters did not play in the preseason. It could just be they need more time on task.

The calendar is now turning to October and the Jets are going into Week 5. It is time to find another gear on offense. We’ll see if the Jets can do it. If they figure things out on offense, we’ll look back on this Broncos game as a weird loss. If they don’t, we’ll know this was the first clue that this team is not as good as they think they are.

2. I am shocked at how little impact Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall are having this season. I was sure that these two were on the verge of monster third seasons after watching them in training camp, but they both don’t look right.

With Wilson, I think it is a matter of adjusting to playing with Aaron Rodgers. It is clear that the wide receiver who Rodgers trusts the most is Allen Lazard. The two have chemistry from their years in Green Bay. I don’t think Rodgers is the easiest quarterback for receivers to play with because he does not operate within the confines of the playbook. The play may be drawn one way but if Rodgers sees something, he adjusts. The receiver has to adjust with him. I don’t think Wilson is doing that right now. The play late in the fourth quarter when he did not get his head around was telling. Rodgers saw one thing. Wilson saw another.

I think Wilson can get on the same page as Rodgers with more time together. Hall’s struggles are harder to pinpoint. He does not look as explosive as he did last year, which is strange because he is now two years removed from ACL surgery. Hall has one long run, a 30-yarder against the Titans. He only has three total runs of 10 yards or more. He has 15 runs of no gain or negative yardage. Some of that can be pinned on the offensive line, but the offense seems to move better when Braelon Allen is in the game.

The expectation entering the season was that Hall and Wilson would make the Jets offense go along with Rodgers. So far, they are sputtering.

3. Let me make this clear: This loss falls squarely on the offense. You should win a game when the opponent only scores 10 points. However, the Jets defense likes to talk about how they are one of the best defenses in the league and sometimes they have compared themselves to historic defenses.

They needed to be better Sunday.

They only sacked Bo Nix once. They forced one turnover. On this day, the Jets needed their defense to score points. You might think that is a preposterous ask of a defense but if you are truly an elite defense, you score points. The Jets had three defensive touchdowns last season and none in 2022.

When you look at the game, it is fair to ask whether that was good Jets defense or bad Broncos offense. I’d go with the latter. Like I said, the defense is not the reason the Jets lost the game. But I think they could have been the reason the Jets won the game had they played at an elite level.

4. The Jets have to give Allen the ball at the goal line. I know Hall has scored two goal-line touchdowns already this season, but Hall did not look right from the start on Sunday. Allen comes in and rips off a 9-yard run. Then, later on that drive, the Jets don’t give him the ball once from the 1-yard line. He was in the game on fourth-and-1 when John Simpson had the false start, so maybe it was going to him then. Allen almost always falls forward. You don’t see him losing yards. I am fine with giving Hall a crack on first down, but then give the ball to Allen on second or third down. I don’t get the hesitation from the Jets coaching staff to embrace Allen as a short-yardage back.

Revealing stat

This is the 13th time in Jets history that they allowed 60 or fewer passing yards and lost the game. The last time was Dec. 12, 2010, when they lost 10-6 to the Dolphins, who had 30 passing yards.

Surprising snap count

Malachi Corley played zero snaps. I expected the rookie to need some time to have a bigger role, but I did not think he would have no role at all.

Game ball

Quincy Williams has been the best player on the Jets this season. Williams had seven tackles, two for a loss and forced a fumble. Williams flies around the field and continues to make plays for the Jets.