The December blues continue for the Jets.
Charlie Smyth tied a team record with five field goals, which helped the Saints (5-10) defeat the Jets (3-12) 29-6 at the Caesars Superdome.
New Orleans won its third consecutive game, while the Jets lost their third in a row and fourth out of their last five games.
“I thought they fought hard and they did everything they could to keep us in this game,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “There are a couple of things from an overall perspective that we gotta get better at. One thing is they had too many plays on our side of the ball.
“Field position wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Offensively, we had way too many penalties that actually put us behind the sticks. We will have a good play and put us in good position, and we will have a penalty. We got two more games left, and I want us to continue to play with effort.”
Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who was drafted 40th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, carved up the Jets defense, finishing 32-for-49 with 308 yards and a touchdown pass. He improved to 4-3 as a starting quarterback.
Wide receiver Chris Olave made 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Saints defensive end Cam Jordan recorded two sacks, giving him 130 for his career, which moved him to 17th on the NFL all-time sacks list.
Sunday marked Chris Harris‘ first game as Jets interim defensive coordinator. Glenn fired former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after the team allowed 82 points over back-to-back losses to the Dolphins and Jaguars.
Following an embarrassing performance in which Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence scored six touchdowns last week, the Jets defense couldn’t get much worse.
On Sunday, the Jets allowed 231 yards by halftime. Gang Green kept the Saints out of the end zone in the first half, playing bend-but-don’t-break defense. Unlike in previous weeks, when receivers seemingly ran free on passing downs, the Jets’ pass coverage was a little tighter under Harris, relying more on zone coverage than under Wilks, who ran more man coverage schemes.
The Jets forced their third turnover of the year on the second play of the game when Malachi Moore stripped Taysom Hill after an eight-yard run, and Qwan’tez Stiggers recovered the ball on the Saints’ 37. But Gang Green was only able to manage a field goal off the turnover.
But just like in previous weeks, the Jets defense fell victim to the same issues. They left the players open for explosive plays and suffered from missed tackles, especially late in the game.
“I thought he was patient,” Glenn said about Harris’ playcalling. “I don’t think there was anything within the way he was calling where thought he was frazzled at all. This team did a ton of uptempo, so that really gave me an opportunity to evaluate how he had calls in his head going onto the next play, if that makes sense?
“And there was no second-guessing. I mean, listen, every game, every playcaller would have a couple calls like, man, I wish I had that back. And I know he will say that, but I would say this: There was no panic. There was no second-guessing. I’m proud of the way he operated.”
The Jets defense couldn’t maintain the same defensive play after halftime. They gave up 20 points in the second half, including a 38-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Hill to Olave. The Jets failed to record an interception for the 15th straight game, tying an NFL record. They also gave up 412 yards to a Saints team that was supposed to be in the same tier as them.
“I hate the fact that we haven’t gotten an interception,” Glenn said. “But the thing is, we got a turnover and then we got a fourth-down stop. Those things are something that we can build on, and our guys will continue to build on that.
“I want the interceptions just like everybody else. But to me, if we can get a turnover, that’s all I care about.”
In the second start of his career, Brady Cook failed to show much growth from last week’s game in Jacksonville. Tyrod Taylor, who missed last week’s game due to a groin injury, backed up Cook. Justin Fields (knee), who started nine games, was the emergency quarterback after being made inactive.
After Cook threw three interceptions against the Jaguars, Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand called a conservative game in the first half. Cook completed 8-of-12 passes for just 74 yards.
But when the Jets fell behind by double-digits, Engstrand had to dial up more pass plays, and Cook struggled in the second half. In the third quarter, on the 46-yard line, ex-Jet Nathan Shepherd strip-sacked Cook, and Chase Young recovered the ball for the Saints. New Orleans turned the turnover into Smyth’s fourth field goal of the game to extend its lead to 13 points.
On the Jets next offensive drive, in Saints territory, Cook threw an interception to Jonas Sanker, and that pretty much ended any chance of a comeback. Cook finished the game 22-of-35 for 188 yards with an interception. He was also sacked eight times due to his lack of pocket presence.
Penalties, which haven’t been an issue in recent weeks, were an issue against the Saints. The Jets committed seven penalties for 54 yards, with two of them on guard John Simpson, which ended up being drive killers.
“Good moments but not enough points,” Cook said. “Not enough sustained drives. We are putting our defense on the field way too often, and too many punts.
“We need to start fast and sustain it. I think it starts with being efficient on first and second down and not putting all the pressure on third and longs and forcing ourselves to be perfect on third down.”
Breece Hall and the Jets’ rushing attack also struggled to get going. He finished with 54 rushing yards and the Jets averaged just 3.2 yards per carry.
Hall has struggled in recent weeks, as defenses have put more men at the line of scrimmage to slow down the Jets’ rushing attack with a rookie quarterback under center. He has 120 yards combined in his last three games against the Saints, Jaguars, and Dolphins.
“That’s the tale of when you have a rookie quarterback playing. What else are you gonna do other than stop the run?” Hall said. “You know, make them throw it on second and long, third down, whatever the case may be. That’s why I gotta put more pressure on myself and other guys in the offense who are in their second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth year to make sure we’re super efficient so we make the game as easy as possible on him.”
The Jets will play their final game at MetLife Stadium this season next weekend when they host the Patriots.
