Either the New York Jets lost in nauseating fashion because of an egregiously bad last-minute defensive call, or they got exactly what they wanted and couldn't be happier right now. Sitting at 0-11 on the season and in position to get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, head coach Adam Gase led the Jets to an early lead and an all-out war with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13. It looked as if Gang Green was finally fed up with losing and accusations they're attempting to tank this season with the hopes of landing consensus No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence in April -- assuming Lawrence decides to declare for the draft -- and Gase was giving Jon Gruden all he could handle and more.
But with their first victory of the season well in hand, leading 28-24 at home with only 13 seconds remaining and the Raiders needing 46 yards and a touchdown to win, the Jets did the unfathomable. They called a Cover 0 defense and sent a jailbreak blitz at quarterback Derek Carr, leaving their corners on an island with no safety help with the responsibility of stopping a turbo-boosted wideout like rookie first-round pick Henry Ruggs, III. Needless to say, it was an abstract disaster, but Carr will take it -- although while stunned at the decision by Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
"I couldn't believe they all-out blitzed us," Carr told media after the harrowing victory, via NFL.com.
HENRY RUGGS FOR THE GO-AHEAD TD!!!!#LVvsNYJ | CBS pic.twitter.com/82kLmV1e5a
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 6, 2020
Ruggs himself was just as floored at the defensive call, but his eyes couldn't have been any bigger when he saw it.
To make things even more embarrassing for the Jets, not only was Williams' decision one of the worst you've seen in the history of football -- one that has now turned speculation of a New York tanking from a forest fire to a mushroom cloud -- but the fact Ruggs was able to get his defender to bite on a double move when the only play that could win the game was a streak route was basically the football equivalent of a chef kiss. With no safety help over the top and the cornerback on skates, the speedy Ruggs felt like time slowed down when Carr released the eventual game-winning heave.
"Once I looked back, it looked like the ball was in the air forever," Ruggs said. "It just wouldn't come down. I just had to find it and make a play. We were kind of surprised they brought the house like that."
Apparently, so was quarterback Sam Darnold, who is likely on his last legs in a dysfunctional Jets organization.
"It's hard to fathom losing a game like that."
Do Gase and Williams truly believe they lost, though? That is the more profound question.
