The New York Jets still have four games left to play, but last night’s no-show against the Colts was an effective and fitting end to their season. The Jets are 3-9 now, and whatever combination of luck and competence that got them to a 10-6 record last season is nowhere to be found.
Head coach Todd Bowles was seething after the game, and repeatedly described what happened to his team as an ass-kicking:
Bowles also announced during his press conference that second-year quarterback Bryce Petty, who replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick during last night’s game, will start the final four games of the season. This is an obvious move to make: There’s no chance in hell Fitzpatrick is coming back after this disaster of a season, and the Jets need to figure out exactly what they have in Petty before moving forward. But because these are the Jets, even a transition as inevitable as this one was handled as poorly as possible. From ESPN:
The move was handled clumsily by the team. Fitzpatrick was informed of his demotion moments before he stepped to the interview podium after the game. Same for Petty. The players in the locker room had no idea of the change until informed by reporters.
So, get excited (?), Jets fans. Petty hasn’t exactly looked great in his previous NFL appearances, but maybe he’ll play well enough to save you all from another summer spent trying to convince yourselves that whatever tin can eventually wins the job will be able to play well enough to keep the team in games and scratch out another 10 wins next season. (I’m kidding; this will never happen.)