Jets head coach Robert Saleh expressed confidence in his team's ability to turn things around a day after their season-opening 32-19 loss to the 49ers.
“It will definitely be fixed,” Saleh said Tuesday morning. “I'm not disappointed at all. Obviously, they performed a lot better than us and we'll be better for it.”
No one is overreacting when it comes to the Jets, but there were some glaring issues on Monday night.
The defense, which finished third in yards allowed last year, gave up 401 yards to the 49ers, who were without star player Christian McCaffrey.
The 49ers scored on eight consecutive drives after the Jets forced a punt early in the game.
We've been talking about the Jets being the best defense in the NFL, but that didn't look like it at all in this game.
They couldn't get off the field and the offense ended up watching the game from the sidelines. The Jets had the ball for just over six minutes in the second and third quarters combined.
“I think our deficit at the end of the first half is what killed the momentum of the game. I think the rest of the first half was consumed by a six-minute drive that led to a field goal for them,” Saleh said. “Then they came out of the locker room and went on a seven-minute drive that led to a field goal. So we went from being down 13-7 to being down 23-7 and our offense wasn't on the field for over an hour.”
It was hard to get a read on an offense that ran just 49 plays.
Aaron Rodgers led 12 impressive touchdown drives in the first quarter and made some beautiful passes, but there were also some forced passes and the offense made mistakes with fumbles, dropped passes and interceptions.
“I know what it feels like,” Saleh said, “but I know the film and I know the way the game is playing out that our offense is going to be really good this year.”
The Jets travel to Tennessee on Sunday to take on the 0-1 Titans.
The Jets had a chance to prove they came in as one of the NFL's top teams on Monday against the defending NFC champion 49ers, but they were humiliated.
Now they face a three-game series against teams considered inferior: the Titans, Patriots and Broncos.
The Jets need to beat the teams they should be facing to regain some confidence that they can end their 13-year playoff drought.
Saleh admitted he feels better being 0-1 this year than he did being 1-0 last year because he believes the team's issues are fixable.
Last year, he dealt with the reality that Rodgers was ruled out as manager of the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.
“Unfortunately, we know our defense is going to get better, so that's going to happen,” Saleh said. “It doesn't matter. … And I know from Week 1 to Week 2 we're going to be a lot better.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
Rodgers said he can play better, but he threw enough passes to make you believe he can lead the Jets to many wins this year.
“I think our offense is in really good shape,” Saleh said. “I thought it was a good first game considering our quarterback hasn't played in a long time, but there were a lot of encouraging things and I'm sure we'll get better as we get more balance as a team.”
