Jets offense fixing struggles start at the line

Ten days later, the Jets’ offense was indistinguishable from the unit that had scored three touchdowns in each of its first three games: no running game to speak of, a passing attack that was inconsistent at best, and an offensive line that couldn’t protect its quarterback .

It felt like the Zach Wilson-led offense had held the Jets back in recent years, especially with the defense performing well for the most part, limiting the Broncos to 10 points.

“I think we kind of killed ourselves,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I can’t say I played a spectacular game. I missed a few throws. The weather was lousy, but some of my casts were bad too. So we had some chances, but way too many mental mistakes, too many bad throws, and then we just missed some simple things, some protections that should have been easy, some route adjustment measures that should have been easy.

“…Our focus just wasn’t as sharp as it was in the first three weeks.”

Now, it should be noted that the Broncos defense could potentially be an elite unit.

They had a dominant performance in defeating the Buccaneers 3-1, allowing just 13.3 points per game, the third fewest in the league.

But the Jets were shaky all afternoon, producing just 248 yards of offense and failing to score a touchdown for the first time this year.

Penalties were a big issue.

Of the 13 charges against the Jets, eight were felony charges.

There were five penalties before the snap.

New left guard John Simpson’s false start on the Denver 1’s fourth down was a killer.

Running back Breece Hall, who only managed 18 yards on 12 touches, had two penalties before the snap.

“It’s a different feeling when you lose because someone is better than you than when you lose because you shoot yourself in the foot a million times,” Hall said.

He added: “At the end of the day we have to do better.”

However, it went beyond self-inflicted mistakes.

They seemed to be wrong from the first whistle.

Rodgers was sacked five times and hit 14 times.

The offensive line had been playing better recently, but took a step back on Sunday.

To put it simply, the group at the front was overwhelming.

“To be honest, it would make you sick if he was a 20-year-old quarterback, so you want your quarterback to be comfortable back there and he definitely wasn’t comfortable,” coach Robert Saleh said. “And give these guys credit. They are a true top-five, top-three, top-defense team and will give a lot of teams a lot of headaches.”

There was hope that Rodgers’ presence and an improved offensive line would lead to a better running game.

But so far, the Jets are 27th in the league with 91.5 yards per game on the ground.

Hall averages just 3.1 yards per carry.

Next up is a Vikings defense that ranks second against the run, allowing just 75 yards per contest.

“It starts at the beginning for us. We have to be able to sit down and tell him we have his back,” center Joe Tippmann said. “There were definitely areas we needed to improve on yesterday. Being able to watch this film really helped us open our eyes to our running game and continue to progress with Breece and the other defenders.

“We know the areas we need to clean up and we will fix those problems.”

With the Vikings, Bills and Steelers up next, the Jets’ offense doesn’t have much time to get going.