New York Jets

Todd Bowles on the hot seat after Pittsburgh debacle

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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After a disappointing loss in Week 4 of the NFL season, the New York Jets came back in Week 5 with another lousy performance in Pittsburgh. It was impossible to ignore what was another atrocious outing for Todd Bowles and his coaching staff.

Coming into the 2016-2017 NFL season, expectations were sky high for head coach Todd Bowles and his seemingly talented New York Jets roster. Bowles was coming off of a 10-6 season, in which he seemed to establish a culture of discipline and accountability within the Jets’ locker room.

Now that we are five weeks through this season, the future is looking very gloomy for Bowles and his coaching staff, to say the least. They have strung together a trio of horrendous performances full of penalties, miscommunications, and botched in-game decisions at crucial moments.

In Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, Bowles, and his staff looked as bad as they ever have in their short tenure thus far. There were plenty of moments where Jets fans everywhere were pulling their hair out due to some of the outrageous calls made by Bowles and company.

One of the most unfathomable moments came with forty seconds left in the first half as the Jets had the ball around their own twenty-five-yard line, trailing by one point. Instead of being aggressive and trying to re-gain the lead by attacking Pittsburgh’s weak secondary, the Jets decided to run the clock out and head to the locker room without any momentum.

This decision was so baffling because the Steelers were getting the football back to start the second half, and they were having tremendous success on offense. The Jets passing attack was also doing very well, so you would figure that they’d at least have a chance to get down the field and make something happen.

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Another horrible moment came with around seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Jets were trailing by eleven points and they had the football at midfield on fourth down and two. Instead of going for the first down to keep the drive alive. They decided to punt the football away, giving Pittsburgh the chance to close out the game.

This decision was even worse than the first one as it gave Pittsburgh the chance to ice the game by getting just a few first downs in a game where they were having no trouble getting from one side of the field to the other. Also, it’s pretty pathetic that Bowles did not have the any confidence in his offense being able to pick up two yards.

Another reason as to why this decision is so inexcusable is that the Jets offense had a really nice drive going. They had a chance to make it a game on that possession, and it was clear that stopping that momentum would likely end up costing them the game.

These are only some of the appalling decisions that were made by Bowles and his coaching staff on Sunday. On top of those decisions there was a great amount of horrible penalties, very poor playcalling, and a clear lack of communication in almost every area of the roster. The worst part about it is that this is clearly becoming a theme with the Jets this season.

The Jets are are dealing with numerous pressing issues right now, but the putrid level of coaching has got to be at the top of the list. If Bowles doesn’t clean up his act in the near future, the Jets could be cleaning house sooner than you might think.

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