Explore More
C.J. Mosley is tired of being a laughingstock.
The Jets linebacker played just his 13th game with the team on Sunday. After the 33-18 loss to the Eagles, Mosley said the Eagles showed no respect for the Jets and he is tired of his team being the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL.
Mosley said Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox laughed at Jets coach Robert Saleh. He said the Eagles’ captains did not shake hands with the Jets’ captains after the coin toss. The Eagles rolled over the Jets on Sunday with a backup quarterback as the Jets’ defense showed little resistance.
“At the end of the day, this is all about respect,” Mosley said. “Right now, teams are not respecting us. That’s well-deserved whether it’s by self-inflicted wounds or the history of the Jets.”
Both of those were on display on Sunday. The Jets fell to 3-9 this season, ensuring the Jets will have a losing record for the sixth straight season. They have not technically been eliminated from the playoffs, but they will be soon and that will be 11 consecutive years without a playoff appearance, the longest current drought in the NFL.
Most of the players in the NFL were not even in high school the last time the Jets were a contender. That is the history Mosley is referring to.
As for the self-inflicted wounds, the Jets allowed the Eagles to score on their first seven possessions. They gave up four first downs by penalty, including on a fourth-down encroachment by Mosley in the third quarter that led to a field goal. They allowed a drive of more than eight minutes to start the second half, killing any momentum the Jets’ offense had from the first half. Their new kicker looked a lot like their old kicker, missing two extra points.
It was another game featuring more errors from the Jets than a Little League game.
Mosley, a four-time Pro Bowler who learned his craft with the proud Ravens, promised things are going to flip for the Jets, but when?
“When things change, it’s going to change quick,” Mosley said. “I come to work every day, I wake up every day with that mindset that the next day is going to be that change. When will that happen? I don’t know. But when it does happen, we’re going to be ready for it.”
There were some promising things on Sunday. Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson (23 of 38, 226 yards, two passing TDS, one rushing TD, one INT) played his best game of the season.
Wilson and the Jets started off quickly for a change. Kick-returner Braxton Berrios opened the game with a 79-yard return to give the Jets the ball on the Eagles’ 21. Five plays later, Wilson connected with Elijah Moore for a 3-yard touchdown. Kicker Alex Kessman, signed off the practice squad on Saturday, missed the extra point, the first of two he would miss in his NFL debut.
The Jets scored touchdowns on their first three possessions for the first time since 2014. They held an 18-14 lead midway through the second quarter but would not score again. The Eagles took a 24-18 halftime lead and then controlled the ball for all but one minute of the third quarter, draining the life out of the Jets. Wilson threw his lone interception early in the fourth quarter, ending any hopes of a comeback.
“I thought I had some good plays as far as just putting my team in the best decision that I can make every single time and just processing as far as getting through guys,” Wilson said. “Now, the next step comes from finding that balance from how I can now go out and use my playmaking ability and also stay within the offense 99 percent of the time.”
As hot as the Jets’ offense started out, the Eagles’ offense matched them. Gardner Minshew was the surprise starter for the Eagles after Jalen Hurts was ruled out with an ankle injury. Minshew carved the Jets up, completing his first 11 passes and leading the Eagles to touchdowns on their first three drives and field goals on their next four. Minshew (20 of 25, 242 yards, two TDs) hit tight end Dallas Goedert for two touchdown passes early and never looked uncomfortable.
CBS sideline reporter Amanda Balionis reported at the beginning of the game that Mosley told her the Jets had not prepared for Minshew, expecting Hurts to start despite his health being a question all week. Mosley told reporters after the game that he had not said that. But cornerback Bryce Hall also said after the game that the Jets had not prepared for Minshew.
The Jets insisted that the Eagles’ offense did not change with Minshew, but how could it not? Hurts entered the game with 695 yards rushing and the Eagles’ offense was designed around him running the ball. Minshew is more of a pocket passer than Hurts and that was on display.
“Everything that they did was expected,” Saleh said. “It’s all part of their game plan. The plays were all the same, it was just ‘Where’s the ball going to go?’ Where Jalen [Hurts] might be a little more aggressive, we knew Minshew was going to be a little more intermediate, check down.”
Mosley said it is on the Jets to “change the narrative” about the team. He wants to stop giving Jets opponents the chance to laugh at them.
“When you handle your business and you’re doing things right, teams don’t have time to do all that laughing, don’t have time to be doing all that stuff because you’re punching them in the mouth,” Mosley said. “That just has to be our mindset. Nothing is going to come easy for us. We have to go take everything, not earn it. We have to go take it. We’ve just got to really believe that.”
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3J7kGtmaW1fmHqrecyoqp6kqWK2tHnToqmenF2ks26wyKypnqugmrC1ecSanqWdo2LAqbvWnptmopWpwG61zWajqKujZA%3D%3D