Monday night was a downright embarrassing loss for the New York Jets. The offense was a mess as quarterback Zach Wilson was sacked eight times and the team lost three fumbles in a 27-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The loss dropped the Jets to 4-4 and down to 11th in the playoff standings with nine games left.
While the game was a nightmare overall, there were a couple of players who stood out in a positive way, mostly on the defensive side of the football. Of course, there were those that who stood out in a negative way as well. Let’s try to sort through the rubble. Here is your Week 9 edition of Studs and Duds.
Stud - DE Jermaine Johnson
Jermaine Johnson continues his breakout second season. Another sack brings him to five for the season, tied with Bryce a huff for the team lead. He also added five pressures in being a key part of the Jets holding Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert under 200 yards passing. The Jets even had moments where Johnson was mor on the interior of the defensive line. Johnson is simply all over the field this season.
Stud - DE Bryce Huff
Here is the other co-leader in sacks for the Jets at the halfway point. Huff had 1.5 sacks of Justin Herbert Monday and is now tied with Jermaine Johnson with five sacks. Huff also had seven pressures while playing almost half of the defensive snaps Monday. Slowly but surely, Huff is becoming more of a factor in the rotation.
Stud - DE John Franklin-Myers
Starting to sense a theme here? The defense did their part, especially up front. John Franklin-Myers also got in on the sack party and added five pressures. He even had three passes defended. The Jets continued their trend of slowing down some of the top quarterbacks in the league. It’s just too bad the offense couldn’t catch up.
Stud - LB C.J. Mosley
11 more tackles puts C.J. Mosley at 82 for the season, tops on the Jets and seventh in the league. Even at 31, Mosley remains one of the best linebackers in the league. Monday was just the latest example.
Dud - Jets offensive line
The Jets had to patch together an offensive line yet again. This was their fifth combination this season which included Joe Tippmann at center, Max Mitchell at right guard and Billy Turner at right tackle. The unit did not do quarterback Zach Wilson any favors, allowing him to be sacked eight times. Three Chargers had at least two sacks, led by the 2.5 for Joey Bosa, who also recovered a fumble.
Not surprisingly, Billy Turner struggled. He was charged with ten pressures allowed. Three offensive linemen — Turner, Max Mitchell and Laken Tomlinson — all graded at a 50 or lower by Pro Football Focus. It was just a horrible, no good, very bad day up front for the Jets.
#Jets O-Line last night, per TruMedia
Billy Turner: 9 pressures, 3 sacks, 2 QB hits
Laken Tomlinson: 7 pressures, 2 sacks, 1 QB hit
Mekhi Becton: 5 pressures, 1 sack
Max Mitchell: 4 pressures, 1 sack
Joe Tippmann: 2 pressuresAlso important to note: Zach Wilson's time to throw…
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) November 7, 2023
Dud - QB Zach Wilson
Yes, the offensive line was really bad and that’s why they got the first “Dud” spot. But Zach Wilson isn’t absolved from any wrongdoing himself. He could have avoided some of those eight sacks, but he held the ball way too long at times and invited the pressure. He basically allowed Joey Bosa to be a magnet to him.
Yet somehow, he put up better numbers than Justin Herbert because the defense kept him in check all day long. But another fumble lost by Wilson was just a microcosm of his season as a whole.
Wilson has 11 total touchdown passes since the start of last season. For context, Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud already has 14 this season. Wilson has five touchdown passes this season. Stroud had five touchdown passes in Week 9 alone.
Dud - WR Allen Lazard
Allen Lazard was questionable for the game with an ankle injury. He was able to play, but he wasn’t very effective. He had two catches for 18 yards. He had a drop and didn’t catch a single contested ball out of four opportunities, per PFF. Lazard also had three penalties in the game.
Lazard hasn’t been horrible, but you’d like to see a little more from someone the Jets are paying $11 million a season to. He is third in yards (273) and fourth in receptions (19). Michael Carter has 15 catches, for some context. Carter had six catches against the Chargers.
