The New York Jets may be starting to give up.
In the wake of yet another stunning loss at home – this time to the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that had lost four straight entering the game – the team seems to be starting to question whether it has what it takes.
The Jets are now 1-5 in one-score games, and the future holds NFL powers in Kansas City and Buffalo.
But what players may be thinking is more troubling. In the post-game, veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick summed up why the team blew up in a game they led by nine points in the third quarter.
“Some bad penalties, bad mistakes, the Jets are the Jets.”
Fitzpatrick was brought in to provide veteran leadership and show the young Jets what it takes to win. If he adopts a “same old Jets” attitude, it could quickly spread into a malaise that threatens not only the rest of this season, but 2027 and beyond.
The bottom line of Fitzpatrick’s statement is that the team doesn’t know how to put away games, or win the contests it should.
No one expected the Jets to go to the Super Bowl this season. But there is hope they can get closer to .500, reversing the stink of 2025’s 3-14 season and providing a foundation to build on three first-round draft choices in 2027.
But that appears to be off the table unless a miracle happens. The Jets seem to find a way to lose, and are often out-schemed by opposing coaches. It took fan and media outrage to get offensive coordinator Frank Reich to use Garrett Wilson in his play-calling.
It will probably take something equally drastic to finally wake up the rest of the Jets and get them going. Right now, there seems to be a lack of faith in the coaches and the system.
Head coach Aaron Glenn is in the hottest seat. Only two things saved him – the realization that firing a coach in the middle of the season was hopeless, and the fact that he was a Jets legacy brought in to change the culture.
Right now, the culture seems to be eating him alive. But firing him now will only cause more chaos, and the Jets have the lessons of axing Robert Saleh with a 2-3 record to prove it.
The Jets have several winnable games left on their schedule, and the prospect of one or two could add to their odds. Right now, hope seems to be a four-letter word around the team, and that needs to change.