When you lose the way the Jets did on Sunday, it's hard to put the words together to sum up the emotions in that moment.
Head coach Adam Gase didn't hold back, though, when asked about how the players were in the locker room following the game.
"Obviously, everybody’s disappointed," he somberly said. "To lose a game like that — our guys work way too hard to go through this s—t.”
The defining play of the game -- a 46-yard bomb to Henry Ruggs III for the game-winner with just seconds left in the contest -- was an unfathomable one. For the Jets, the play call of an all-out blitz to leave the secondary without any help was a shocker considering the Raiders needed a touchdown to win. During his own post-game news conference, Raiders QB Derek Carr even said, "I couldn't believe they all-out blitzed us."
That call left rookie CB Lamar Jackson in one-on-one coverage with one of the fastest receivers in the league in Ruggs. A double move got Jackson to stop his feet and that's all Ruggs needed to create separation.
It was a call S Marcus Maye didn't like.
“Just felt like it could’ve been a better call in that situation," he said.
Jordan Jenkins added that the loss "definitely stings," and said that the players just need to get together to make sure that doesn't happen again.
But the opponents only get harder for this 0-12 Jets squad, with the Seattle Seahawks next week followed by the Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots to finish the season.
So, after playing such a good game and capitalizing on opponent mistakes, the Jets still somehow couldn't tack a win on their record. And they know this was truly the one that got away this season -- a season that hasn't thrown any luck their way.
“We should’ve won," Sam Darnold said. "We’ve had a few games where we haven’t had a chance. So to be able to have a game like that that you should’ve won in the end, those ones definitely hurt more than any.”
