After a comeback that never was in Carolina, the Jets are slated to play division rival New England Patriots this coming Sunday.

This will be the New York Jets home opener against rookie quarterback Mac Jones and the rebuilt Patriots, who are also coming off a Week 1 loss.

What needs to change with the New York Jets to help secure a win again Bill Belichick?

Jets Need To Take Off First

The loss in Carolina started with a painfully slow start. The Jets didn’t score until the third quarter, after going into the half down 16-0. Spoiler alert: you can’t win games doing that. The Jets started to put the game plan together in the second half after making their adjustments, but it’s simply not enough. While the defense only allowed 3 points the entire second half, the comeback obviously fell short.

This starts with the offensive line.

Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson was sacked 6 times in the loss, and hit 10 more times. Jets fans are no stranger to this, and know how difficult pressure makes quarterback play. When Wilson had time to make the throws, or the space to make the throws, we saw him start to carve up a talented Carolina defense in the second half. It cannot take until the second half for the team to start moving things.

Wilson can’t be resorted to play hero ball either. The Jets averaged on 17 total rushing attempts an abysmal 2.6 yards per carry. 45 total rushing yards cannot be the compliment to a rookie quarterback. Tevin Coleman lead the team in rushing with 24 total yards.

If the offensive line can’t protect Zach Wilson and can’t get an efficient supportive run game going, the Jets are looking at a hard fight. The struggle comes with start left tackle Mekhi Becton out for 4-8 weeks. George Fant is expected to swing to left tackle, and free agency acquisition Morgan Moses will start at right tackle.

Jets Defense Needs No Flight Zone

First thing first: the defense needs to generate pressure. Zach Wilson had a 14% chance of being sacked every play versus Carolina. Sam Darnold had a 2.8% chance. The former Jet was given ample time to sit in the pocket and deal the ball to some explosive weapons in the first half. Film study shows Darnold has an inability to handle pressure, but the talented defensive line of the Jets came up short. Running back Christian McCaffrey also took 21 touches for 98 yards. The trenches need to be nasty this game.

New England ran the ball for 125 yards in the loss against Miami. Mac Jones also had a 2.5% sack percentage. If the front 7 can generate the pressure and significantly impact the run, the defense puts the team in a much better situation.

Final Thoughts

Everything that we’ve established as keys to success are obvious, and may seem like a cop out for content. Protect the quarterback, run the ball efficiently, and create pressure. It’s the fundamentals of football. But that’s what cost the Jets last Sunday: not playing the fundamentals of football. If they do the basics, it’s a very different ball game. Last week New England had zero wide receivers account for over 50 yards of offense. Carolina had 3 (McCaffrey-89, Moore-80, Anderson-57). Minimize the big plays, play fundamentally sound football, and the Jets can walk away at .500.

Side note: the New York Jet will be wearing all white for Sunday’s home game. The previous three times the Jets have worn white/white, they’ve won all 3 games. And now that I’ve jinxed it, I leave the game planning to Robert Saleh.

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