The Jets have a bye week.
They could use a bye-bye month.
The 2024 Jets will be remembered as one of the most disappointing in franchise history, and this franchise has been through a lot of misery.
The team started the year with Super Bowl ambitions and playoff hopes, with a healthy Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and a full roster of stars.
They arrive with a 3-8 bye and will have an interim head coach and general manager.
It's unbelievable.
The Jets have six games left, but everyone's thoughts from owners to fans are already turning to 2025.
They will need a new GM, coach, and possibly a quarterback.
How did they get here?
That's the question everyone involved with the team has.
No one expected a season like this to happen during training camp.
There was a positive atmosphere as Rodgers returned from an injury sustained last season.
The defense returns most of its starting lineup from a year ago, when it was in the top five.
The offensive line had emerging stars in Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.
The Jets started the season 2-1 and fell to last place after an impressive win against the Patriots in Week 3.
After back-to-back losses to the Broncos and Vikings, owner Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh.
That move didn't work.
After Jeff Ulbrich took over as interim coach, the Jets lost their next three games.
They continued to try to stem the tide, trading star receiver and Rodgers partner Davante Adams and convincing pass rusher Haason Reddick to end the holdout.
The Jets had a moment of hope against the Texans, but have lost their last two games, including a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to the Colts last week.
The loss ended the team's slim playoff hopes, and Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday, beginning a search for new leadership for the team.
It's impossible to know what will happen in the remaining six games.
Have the Jets checked out?
Are they now free of expectations and able to play better?
Considering how this season has gone, nothing should be surprising.
best player
Not much went right, but third-year wide receiver Garrett Wilson played well.
Wilson ranks third in the NFL with 69 receptions.
He has 722 receiving yards and five touchdown catches.
Wilson started late and didn't seem to be a good fit with Rodgers, but the two have improved over the last seven weeks.
Wilson has three 100-yard games this year, and the arrival of Davante Adams took some of the attention off the defense and helped things get better.
The highlight of Wilson's season came in the second half of the game against the Texans, when he became a sensation with two one-handed touchdown grabs, including one in the end zone.
Wilson will be eligible for a contract extension after this season, and the new management will now have to make a big decision on whether to keep him around.
least valuable player
The Jets acquired edge rusher Haason Reddick in a trade in March, hoping he could make up for the productivity lost with Bryce Huff's departure in free agency.
Instead, Redick decided to hold off on a new contract.
Redick missed all of spring training, training camp and the first seven games.
He hasn't made much of an impact since returning last month.
Redick, who had four consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks, had a half-sack in four games with the Jets.
In fact, the Jets' pass rush was better before Redick came to the team.
He'll be a free agent after this season, and if he wants to get paid by someone else, he'll have to trade his piece.
the biggest surprise
One of the assumptions about the Jets was that their defense would be among the best in the NFL.
However, it turned out to have many flaws and fell apart in large parts this year.
Some stats still look good.
The Jets rank 7th in total defense and 12th in points allowed.
But anyone who has watched this defense knows it doesn't live up to its preseason billing.
It started in Week 1, when he allowed 180 rushing yards to the 49ers, who didn't even have Christian McCaffrey.
Issues remain in run defense.
They have given up at least 100 yards rushing in eight of 11 games.
Then there's the issue of not being able to get interceptions.
The Jets have recorded just two interceptions this season, both by Brandin Echols, who isn't even a regular starter.
The Jets are having a bad season from one of their top players, cornerback Sauce Gardner.
On top of that, against New England and last week against the Colts, the defense collapsed in the final minutes when the team needed a stop.
biggest disappointment
There are many candidates for this title, but we have to start with the team's biggest star: Aaron Rodgers.
When the Jets traded for Rodgers in April 2023, the expectation was that he would at least be the missing piece to get this team into the playoffs.
He lost his last season to injury, but his return this year has given him hope.
Rodgers hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been able to improve this team as much as anyone expected.
He looks sullen in the pocket, unable to move for fear of being hit.
He rarely pushes the ball down the field.
The passing offense seems to consist of throwing short to the playmakers and hoping they break up long runs.
Rodgers' stats aren't bad.
He has 2,442 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
If he can get through the final six games, he could have the best season statistically in Jets quarterback history.
But anyone who watched the game knows that Rodgers was a huge disappointment.
best moment
The Jets had a terrible first half against the Texans on Thursday Night Football, but regained their offensive rhythm in the second half.
The highlight of the game and season came early in the fourth quarter when Rodgers threw the ball into the end zone, Wilson made an acrobatic one-handed grab and somehow came down inbounds with the ball.
This touchdown gave them a 14-10 lead and they won 21-13.
The catch went viral on social media and was replayed for days.
It felt like this might be the start of a comeback, but the following week's loss to Arizona put an end to that idea.
Wilson's catch reminded me of Odell Beckham Jr.'s one-handed catch with the Giants a decade ago.
It will be interesting to see if this catch will be remembered or if it will be lost among the detritus of this terrible season.
worst moment
The cracks in the season were already starting to show at 2-3, but when owner Woody Johnson decided to fire coach Robert Saleh, the Jets still had a home game against the Bills for first place in the AFC East. I was trying to fight.
Johnson was tired of Saleh, whom he had hired when his brother Christopher was still the US ambassador to Britain, and decided the team needed a change.
Coach Johnson felt the team would turn around under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, but the opposite happened.
Follow the latest updates on the firing of New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
The team has 1 win and 5 losses since the change of coach.
Saleh had a 20-36 record as head coach, but the locker room didn't react well to his firing.
The players liked Saleh and for several weeks it felt like the team was in a state of shock.
The defense, of which Saleh was the architect, has remained unchanged since his dismissal.
This is the first time in Johnson's 25 years as owner that he has fired a coach during a season.
biggest head scratcher
What happened to kicker Greg Zuerlein?
As losses mount and people lose their jobs, this is one question that has been asked over and over again.
Tourline seemed to have solved the Jets' long-standing kicking problems in recent years.
He made 35 of 38 field goals last year and was rewarded with a two-year, $8.4 million contract extension in March.
But this year's Zelllein was terrible.
He missed six field goals, including the game-winning goal against the Broncos that started the Jets' downward spiral.
If they win that game, who knows if things will change.
He also missed big kicks against the Bills and Patriots and was eventually replaced.
The Jets have used three kickers since placing Tourline on injured reserve with a mysterious left knee injury.
Future decisions
Now, big decisions will be made in the offseason regarding the future of this team.
In the short term, however, everything revolves around Rodgers.
Will he play the strings?
Will he suddenly be placed on disabled reserve?
Rodgers has been dealing with hamstring and knee injuries for much of the season, so if the Jets and Rodgers decide he's no longer worth playing, they could put him on IR due to aggravated injuries.
For now, Rodgers is playing for pride and trying to take something back from this miserable season.
Rodgers seems to really enjoy being on the team, but it just hasn't worked out for him.
If the Jets have a young quarterback waiting in the wings, it would make sense to check him out now.
But they don't have that guy.
Tyrod Taylor is Rodgers' backup and Adrian Martinez is the third-string quarterback.
This season has been hell for Rodgers and the Jets.
You wonder if he just wants it to end.
