Winners and Losers for every New York Jets position unit in Week 4

The Jets suffered a disheartening loss to the Jaguars

10/1/2018, 2:15 PM
Sep 30, 2018; Jacksonville, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith (50) during the second half at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports / Reinhold Matay
Sep 30, 2018; Jacksonville, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith (50) during the second half at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports / Reinhold Matay

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The Jets suffered a dispiriting 31-12 loss on the road in Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon. Let's break down how each unit performed...

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold didn't throw an interception this week, although he had one negated by a penalty flag. He only completed 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times as the Jets were shut out in the first half and didn't get into the end zone until the fourth quarter. Darnold missed on some deep balls, which could have made the game closer.

We'll have a more in-depth look at Darnold's performance later Monday.

Grade: C-

(Last week: D+)

Running Backs

The Jets completely failed to get any kind of running game going, as Bilal Powell was held to 26 rushing yards and Isaiah Crowell's five touches netted just three yards. Crowell was stuffed in the backfield for a safety and gave up a sack in pass protection.

Powell generated another 26 yards on four receptions, but was also unsuccessfully targeted a few times, including on a key third down and an overthrown deep ball.

Grade: C-

(Last week: B-)

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Once again, Quincy Enunwa was the Jets' best offensive player with 66 yards on four catches. It could have been a much bigger day for him, though, as he had a long catch and run negated by a penalty and almost came down with a deep ball.

Enunwa didn't get much support, as Jermaine Kearse and Robby Anderson each caught two passes for a combined 41 yards, while Terrelle Pryor barely even played.

At tight end, Jordan Leggett caught three short passes, including his first NFL touchdown. Rookie Chris Herndon caught an 18-yard pass on a play where Darnold appeared to be throwing the ball away, but another spectacular juggling catch was negated by a flag. Eric Tomlinson was called for a costly holding penalty.

Grade: C-

(Last week: C-)

Offensive Line

The offensive line had their hands full with the Jaguars' formidable front, giving up plenty of pressure and struggling to win at the point of attack in the running game.

Spencer Long gave up a sack for the second week in a row, as he reacted late to a stunt. He and Brian Winters each gave up interior pressure a few times. Winters and Kelvin Beachum struggled in the running game.

For the second week in a row, James Carpenter and Brandon Shell were the best of a bad bunch, although Shell was beaten a few times off the edge.

Beachum and Long each got called for a penalty, with Beachum's holding call to negate a big gain seemingly unnecessary as he had inside help.

Grade: C-

(Last week: C-)

Defensive Line

After not generating any statistics last week, Leonard Williams had five tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss. However, Henry Anderson was arguably even more impactful, as he had a third down sack, three passes batted down at the line of scrimmage and another quarterback hit.

Steve McLendon was in on a couple of run stuffs but was blocked out of a few plays up front and missed a couple of tackles. His backup Mike Pennel had a defensive penalty for illegal use of the hands.

Rookie Nathan Shepherd only had one tackle off the bench but, for the first time since the regular season began, showed some promise as a pass rusher, getting pressure on Blake Bortles a couple of times.

Grade: B-

(Last week: C-)

Linebackers

Avery Williamson made some impact plays, with nine tackles, a forced fumble and a pass deflection that led to an interception. Darron Lee added six tackles and was in on a few stops near the line.

However, while it was not always readily apparent who was at fault, there were far too many plays where receivers were left totally uncovered in zone coverage and Lee and Williamson were involved in some of these.

Reserves Neville Hewitt and Kevin Pierre-Louis each got a few snaps this week. Hewitt was in on a run stop but Pierre-Louis gave up a first down in coverage and missed a tackle.

On the edge, Jordan Jenkins had a few pressures this week but missed a chance to bring Bortles down for a sack. The returning Josh Martin suffered another head injury and Brandon Copeland failed to generate much pass rush. Off the bench, Jeremiah Attaochu made a few plays in limited time.

Grade: C

(Last week: C+)

Secondary

The Jets forced three turnovers, with Buster Skrine stripping a ball away from a receiver, Darryl Roberts intercepting a tipped pass and Trumaine Johnson recovering a fumble and returning it to the five-yard line to set up a touchdown. However, with Bortles throwing for a career-high 388 yards, the secondary obviously had serious issues. As noted, there were multiple breakdowns in zone coverage, a few of which seemed to involve Skrine.

Skrine gave up several catches in coverage, but Johnson was the biggest disappointment, as he let Donte Moncrief get behind him for a 67-yard score. Morris Claiborne and Roberts gave up one first down each.

At safety, the returning Marcus Maye had six tackles but also missed a tackle. Jamal Adams made several plays as he ended up with 12 tackles, including one for a loss. It was not a fault-free performance from him, though.

Johnson and Adams each had costly missed tackles and Adams also had a late unnecessary roughness penalty -- the only one on the secondary all day.

Grade: D

(Last week: C-)

Special Teams

Special teams didn't make much of an impact, with the return game a disaster as Andre Roberts was tackled at the nine, 22 and 14-yard line on three kick-off returns and almost muffed a punt. Kicker Jason Myers made two field goals, while punter Lachlan Edwards put up decent numbers with good coverage from Terrence Brooks, among others.

Grade: C+

(Last week: C)

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