The NFL schedule makers showed no mercy for the Jets.
Gang Green will face another playoff contender in the Rams this week. The Jets (0-13) could use a game against a team in their weight class, but that didn’t materialize, as the past three games have been against playoff hopeful teams, and that continues Sunday in Inglewood, California.
The Jets enter this game with the worst foul in football (269.8 yards per game). The Rams (9-4) enter the game with the best defense in football (285.8 yards per game allowed). This one can get very ugly.
The question about the Jets had been for weeks whether this team would pack it up and put in less effort. Even in the 40-3 defeat to the Seahawks last week, it seemed not a lack of effort, but a lack of talent.
Coach Adam Gase was asked this week if players have started dreaming about where they will fly when the season ends in two weeks.
“I didn’t see that,” said Gase. “I think guys have done well with resetting and getting ready to move on to the next one. They know what a challenge we have this week, they know how to play, they know this must be a well-played complementary football game to get us in position in the fourth quarter. “
This is the Jets’ third trip to the west coast in the past month and their second in two weeks. The original plan was to stay out of the west and practice between games at the Seahawks and the Rams, but the COVID-19 protocols made them change those plans and they’ll make four cross-country flights in 10 days.
“I think we were a little slow on Wednesday, I know that trip was a long trip, just trying to get guys back on schedule and things like that,” Gase said. Thursday there was a noticeable uptake in energy level, performance, exercise. When we left the practice [Thursday] I felt good about where we stood. “
For quarterback Sam Darnold, a trip to the Los Angeles area should have been a happy homecoming. Darnold grew up about an hour south of San Clemente and is said to have had family and friends in the stands. Instead, he plays in an empty stadium for a winless team with his future in question.
“I was looking forward to going home and seeing family if possible, but that’s clearly nothing,” said Darnold. “But we look forward to going there and playing a good team and having that opportunity.”