Safety Jamal Adams has expressed his frustrations with the Jets' losing ways over the past two years. And even after Sunday's 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots dropped New York to 3-8 for its fifth straight loss, Adams was confident he and the rest of the team will turn things around.
"We get a lot of negative comments and we understand it," Adams told reporters after the game. "I get it. I get the frustration, but at the end of the day, we are hurting twice as much as you. So, just stick in there with us. We're going to figure it out. Do I know when? Do I know the timetable? No."
Sicne starting the season 3-3, the Jets have lost five straight and have a minus-84 point differential. New York went into its bye week coming off a 41-10 drubbing by the Buffalo Bills, a game that was fair to question if the Jets quit.
Sunday's game was different. Though they allowed two touchdowns in an eight-minute span midway through the second half that turned a 13-13 game into a 14-point deficit, they said they competed throughout.
"We're going to fight every week," head coach Todd Bowles said. "We fought the Buffalo game, we just didn't play smart. We fought this game, we didn't execute in the second half."
A 38-yard Jason Myers field goal tied the game at 13 with 4:00 remaining in the third quarter, but Tom Brady led the Patriots on a four-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 21-yard Julian Edelman touchdown that made it 20-13. New England marched downfield on a 10-play, 80-yard drive after a Jets punt for a Sony Michel score that made it a two-touchdown game with 8:54 left.
But despite the fact they went up against the defending AFC champs, the Jets didn't milk it in.
"We're always gonna fight ... no matter what the record is, no matter what the score is," said wide receiver Quincu Enunwa, who had four catches for 73 yards.
The rest of their schedule doesn't get much easier, either. They face the 5-5 Titans and the Bills on the road the next two games. Then they host the 7-3 Texans and the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers before a rematch with the Patriots in Week 17.
Adams said two weeks ago that the losing culture surrounding the team has not changed from last season, and he does have a point. Dating back to last season, the Jets have had four different losing streaks of at least three games.
And yet, Adams believes the Jets' effort will eventually pay off.
"Obviously, we don't want to lose," Adams said. "We go out there and we are in tough ballgames like this. We are playing hard, but we are just not doing enough. We have to do more. We have to figure out that niche for us to get over this hump and go back to work next week and go to Tennessee and put this one out."