The fans at the University of Phoenix Stadium were treated to the traditional elements of a Jets defeat — offensive malaise, a red-zone interception, defensive resignation — but for no extra cost received a bonus that the good folks in Kansas City, Mo.; East Rutherford, N.J.; and Pittsburgh missed out on.
With 8 minutes 20 seconds left, Coach Todd Bowles reached his threshold for suffering. He yanked Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had led the Jets to only a field goal in nine possessions, for the backup quarterback Geno Smith, who had lapsed into what amounted to a mini-tantrum on the sideline after Fitzpatrick’s third-quarter interception.
Bowles quashed any uncertainty about the position afterward by declaring that Fitzpatrick would start Sunday against Baltimore. The Jets’ atrocious pass protection and running game (14 carries, 33 yards) would have undermined any quarterback, Bowles said, not just Fitzpatrick. And with the Jets trailing by 25 points, Bowles said, he wanted to give Smith some snaps.
But this situation will continue to simmer. The Jets’ record, achieved by a compilation of mishaps that even a blooper reel would…
