In the most surprising upset of the 2020 NFL season, the New York Jets won their first game of the year against the 9-4 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. It’s a win that, while certainly impressive, didn’t please many Jets fans.
The subject of a football team tanking for higher draft picks is treated very delicately in the inner NFL circle. No team or coach would admit to it, but sometimes losing near the end of a meaningless season seems intentional. Especially when a generational talent is waiting at the first or second overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Just a few weeks ago, the Jets made an asinine decision to run a cover-zero formation to stop a hail mary attempt against the Las Vegas Raiders. Obviously, it didn’t work and it cost them the match. However, many Jets fans shrugged their shoulders and looked ahead to Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the projected #1 pick.
Completing 69% of his passes at a 22-4 TD-INT ratio, Lawrence has more than proved that he’s the best quarterback coming out of this year’s graduating college football class. Logically, a football team would want the best football player in the draft, especially if he fits their positional needs. With the Jacksonville Jaguars hot on their 0-13 trail at 1-12 (with an easier schedule, which breaks the tie) it seemed like the only way to secure Lawrence was for the New York Jets to lose every single game.
They won.
Sam Darnold threw for 207 yards in the win, his most since week four. You may be able to tell why the fanbase wanted Trevor Lawrence.
The match itself was close all the way through; both teams had similar rushing and passing yards, and neither team took a large lead. The difference may have come in the form of 3rd down efficiency, with the Jets converting seven 3rd downs to the Rams’ meager two.
Whether flukey or earned, the Jets are now 1-13. When asked about the theory of tanking, players will almost always claim a #1 draft pick isn’t worth the pride lost from a winless season. Elderly Jets RB Frank Gore himself said, “I can’t go out like that.”
Perhaps the Jets ownership would have preferred the inadvertent tank. However the players themselves are out there trying to win every game. They can feel especially proud of themselves for beating a strong Rams team, and Adam Gase will eventually get to complain on his way out of MetLife Stadium that a man who outcoached Sean McVay shouldn’t be fired.
However they feel about the win, they still need a new quarterback, and they’re now in the #2 draft slot. If the Jaguars keep losing successfully, they’ll be able to claim Trevor Lawrence for themselves. It’s time for Ohio State QB Justin Fields to begin fearing for a career in the green-and-white pit of despair,
But hey, if the Browns could turn their franchise around, so can New York. J-E-T-E, go Jets.
For more NFL news and analysis go to Belly Up Sports or follow @bellyupsports. For more articles and idle thoughts about sports, check out my Twitter @zacksphatstacks.
