Jets need to stop looking at outside forces, start fixing what’s wrong internally after loss to Steelers

PITTSBURGH – They won’t go there. They can’t. The moment they do, Jeff Ulbrich said, the Jets season is lost.

But they don’t have to say it, as the evidence is mounting.

The Jets lost to the Steelers on Sunday, 37-15. They actually led by nine at one point in the first half and by two at intermission. Then, they melted down in prime time. Players blamed the little things — details. Fix those and they’ll be fine.

“That’s not who this team is,” Ulbrich said of their performance.

This is not Weeks 1, 2 or 3 anymore. The Jets sit 2-5. The calendar is closer to Nov. 1 than Oct. 1.  Those little things? Those details? They’re still not fixed.

Say it aloud or not, it’s beginning to look like this could just be who the Jets are.

“Just got to win,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Jets like to talk about how good they are. Newly acquired receiver Davante Adams said there were moments Sunday night where he looked around the huddle and was shocked at the players he saw gazing back. Owner Woody Johnson called the roster the “greatest collection of talent” he’s seen in his 24 years with the team. The Jets spent the last two offseasons talking of a Super Bowl run, believing the playoffs were a given.

There have been moments in just about every game this season, where you get glimpses of that potential. Their first touchdown drive of the season against the 49ers. The game-winning one a week later against the Titans. The entire first half against the Patriots. Garrett Wilson’s performance against the Vikings. The Hail Mary against the Bills. Their two first-half touchdown drives Sunday night against the Steelers.

But each moment, even their victories, are held back by a sinking feeling of what could have been.

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. The Jets are every bit 2-5. They’re undisciplined. They’re often unprepared. Their technique is poor. They are finding ways to lose games.

The offense had the ball in its hands with a chance to win against the Broncos, Vikings and Bills. They missed a field goal and threw two interceptions. They had the ball against the Steelers leading 15-6 when Rodgers forced one to Wilson. Beanie Bishop picked it off. Rodgers admitted after the game he felt the energy drain after that mistake. The Steelers scored a touchdown four plays later.

After the Steelers took a 16-15 lead, the Jets again had the ball with an opportunity to retake momentum. Rodgers went deep down the left sideline to Wilson. The ball hit him in the chest and bounced out. Bishop picked that one off, too, and returned it to the Jets’ one-yard line. Russell Wilson scored on a one-yard sneak a play later and the route was on.

“I have to catch the damn ball,” said Wilson, who finished with five catches for 61 yards. “I’m playing like s--t right now.”

The Jets are on their second head coach, second play-caller, and infused their roster with playmaker Davante Adams this week, but it hasn’t mattered.

The hope when the Jets fired Robert Saleh was that Ulbrich would give the team a spark. They had the players. They needed new leadership. The most damning assessment of the culture came from Rodgers, who finished 24 of 39 or 276 yards with a touchdown and the pair of interceptions.

He said he felt the Jets were “flat” before the game. It was flat at halftime. It puzzled him because it was Sunday Night Football with the world watching. This is when his teammates should get up – put on a show.

Instead, it was the opposite.

“You have to have culture changers in the midst of talent to steer things in the right direction,” Rodgers said.

The Jets need to stop looking for outside forces and start fixing what’s wrong internally.

Things should get easier for the Jets next week (theoretically) when they travel north to face the hapless Patriots (1-6). But if New York wants to accomplish what it once thought was possible this year, it’s not about beating the league’s bottom-feeders. It’s about taking down the contenders.

They thought they were capable of that before the year. They were certain of it.

If only it were as easy said as done.