Who Fell Flat in Jets Week 4 Loss to the Dolphins?

After starting the season 0-3, the NY Jets looked to get back on track as they faced off with another 0-3 team, the Miami Dolphins. Despite playing a much better offensive game last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers than they did in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, the Jets were not able to build on that performance. If anything, this game looked like a giant step back as the Jets fell to their division rival, the Dolphins, 27-13.

A beautiful catch by Garrett Wilson in the endzone made it a 6-point game late. However, the Jets didn’t have a comeback in their bones for this one.  Fields finished the game, completing a respectable 20 of his 27 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 81 yards and one touchdown on seven attempts. This wasn’t necessarily a bad showing in Fields’ return to the field after missing Week 3 with a concussion, but it was far from good with many of his mental errors. So, who fell flat in the Jets’ Week 4 loss against the Dolphins?

3. Braelon Allen, RB

Braelon Allen started the game out very well for the Jets. The Jets offense opened up the game with a strong showing, running the ball right down the Dolphins’ throats in their first time on offense. Just as it looked like they were about to score a touchdown on the opening drive and set the tone for the game, Allen picked up arguably the Jets’ most costly turnover of the game, fumbling the ball as he dove into the endzone. The fumble was punched out by Miami’s cornerback, Jack Jones, and recovered by Minkah Fitzpatrick.

This turnover couldn’t have come at a worse time. The offense arguably looked the best it’s had throughout the entire season on the first drive. Switching from Breece Hall to Allen, running a two-back drive, this was damn-near perfect. This turnover sadly erased any and all momentum the Jets had and changed what could have been a game-defining drive. Fortunately for Allen, he wasn’t the only one to turn the ball over, as the Jets lost the turnover battle to Miami, badly.

To make matters worse for Allen, he was injured returning a kickoff later on in the game and did not return. Despite his poor performance before his injury, losing him limited the Jets ability to lean on a balance offensive attack and forced much more with Hall because of that. The goal-line turnover was detrimental to the Jets loss, and his absence later on in the game only made the Jets offense that much worse. His mistake on the first drive of the game set a tone for the Jets that they couldn’t get rid of.

2. Isaiah Williams, KR/PR

Isaiah Williams… What are we doing? Williams could have had the worst game for a kick returner and/or a punt returner in NFL history. Mistakes are one thing, but the mistakes Williams made show his clear lack of understanding of the game of football. The New York Jets signed Williams off the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad earlier this month. They brought him in to be a kick and punt returner. All things considered, before the signing, he looked like he had great potential to excel at that spot.

However, we have not seen what the Jets saw in him so far. This game was simply a brutal showing for him. When the Jets were down 10-3 to start the second half, they had the chance to tie the game up, as they were getting the ball back. They could have made the game much tighter, with neither team truly in control of the game. Instead, Williams returns the halftime kick and coughs it up at the 36-yard line. This leads to an easy Dolphins touchdown, and they go up by two scores to put the game firmly in their favor.

Williams’ bad day didn’t end there. Early in the fourth quarter, the Jets were down 24-13. Despite things looking bleak, the game was still far from over. The Jets forced Miami to punt after a three-and-out. When Miami punted, Williams called for a fair catch at the Jets’ three-yard line. This is just something you don’t do, and it is inexcusable for a punt returner. Head coach Aaron Glenn chewed him out on the sideline for this mistake, rightfully so. This is a game Williams would like to forget, and hopefully, he can do just that. Otherwise, he’ll wind up just like Xavier Gipson.

1. The Secondary

It sadly doesn’t get much worse than this. The Jets secondary defense – especially Sauce Gardner – fell extremely flat against the 0-3 Miami offense. In a game that could have been a great game for them to get back on track, they unfortunately did quite the opposite. First and foremost, the Jets still can’t get a single takeaway. When you turn the ball over to Miami three times, and lose the turnover battle that badly, there’s no shot you’re going to win that game. The failure to make a big play allowed Miami to do whatever they wanted and escape unpunished.

Sauce Gardner, one of the Jets shining stars since he was drafted in 2022, had a game he’d like to forget. He was flagged for pass interference, giving Miami extra yards and extending some brutal drives. These type of penalties in close games kills any defensive momentum, and puts the Jets offense already back on its heels. The Jets racked up 13 penalties for 101 yards in the game. Many of these penalties came from the Jets secondary defense and coverage unit, giving Miami free yards throughout the night.

Overall, the coverage from the Jets defense was just downright bad in this one. Miami stood on the field and converted on a ton of third down attempts. The Jets looked gassed, lazy, and just couldn’t stop the Dolphins offense. Gardner’s penalty, the unit’s lack of takeaways, and just bad coverage all combined to create a recipe for disaster. To make matters worse, Gardner essentially blamed the referees for the Jets loss after the game, which just continues to paint the Jets in a bad light.