Jets Fire Gase After Season Ending Loss

By Shara Talia Taylor

The New York Jets concluded the season with a loss to the New England Patriots on a snowy Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

It looked like the final game would be successful for the Jets and allow the team to end a hectic season, highlighted by loss, trades and COVID-19, with a win. The Jets were ahead in the third quarter, however the Patriots quickly reclaimed the lead with smart successful plays leaving the Jets with a 2-14 record.

“I wanted to win this game,” Head Coach Adam Gase said after the game. “I’ve come up here enough times to have this result. I felt like we had good plans coming in. We had a decent stretch there where we did some good things. We didn’t finish it the right way.”

The Jets defense failed to contain Patriots QB Cam Newtown. New England scored in first quarter and were still ahead 7-0 halfway through the second quarter, even with quarterback sacks by defensive end Bryce Huff and linebacker Frank Luvu along with successful stops by safety Marcus Maye, who had seven tackles and three assists for the game. Gang Green did not score until 1:45 remained in the second quarter when quarterback Sam Darnold connects with Chris Herndon for a 21 yard touchdown pass tying the game at 7 before halftime.

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The first time New York got the ball in the third quarter, they scored another touchdown. Darnold handing off to running back Josh Adams for a 1 yard touchdown extending the score to 14-7.  New York did not score again for the remainder of the game. The next three time the Patriots got the ball, Newton was involved in both touchdowns. The first receiving, the last two passing. Before the Jets could blink, they were down 28-14 which would be the final score.

Darnold’s first interception in the third quarter led to the Patriots taking the lead 21-14. “They were bracketing and one of their guys fell off of (Jamison) Crowder and made a good play,” Darnold said about his last interception. “Again, I think, it was just trying to do too much just forcing it in there, and the guy made a good play.”

Darnold completed 23 of 34 passes for 266 yards, 1 td, 2int’s. Newton finished 21-30, 242 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Jets tweeted Sunday a statement from Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson announcing Gase would not be returning as head coach. It was confirmed Monday when Johnson issued the following statement: “While my sincere intentions are to have stability in our organization — especially in our leadership positions — it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction. We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done when Adam joined us in 2019. Our strong finish last year was encouraging, but unfortunately, we did not sustain that positive momentum or see the progress we all expected this season. To our fans, it is obvious we have not been good enough. We are committed to building a strong organization, on and off the field, and will continue to provide the necessary resources to field a team that you can be proud of.” In his two years as Jets head coach, he compiled a record of 9-23. 

The Jets’ now turn their attention to the upcoming draft. New York will continue rebuilding for next year with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. They have to make a decision regarding the future of Darnold who expressed his desire to remain in New York. “I said it once I got here, I want to be a Jet for life. I love the people here. I love living here. I want to turn this thing around. I believe that we can. There’s going to be a lot of work involved in that. We all know it’s a process. We’ve got great people in the organization, great people in the locker room. It’s a work in progress, but I definitely want to stay here hopefully for the rest of my career.”

Editor’s Note: Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.