NASHVILLE, Tenn. — You might want to put those playoff plans on hold, Jets fans.
All the giddiness from the Jets winning two of their first three games evaporated with a sobering 38-13 turnover-filled loss to the Titans on Sunday at LP Field.
Rookie quarterback Geno Smith was abysmal, turning the ball over four times, and the Titans capitalized. Tennessee scored 28 points off of Smith’s turnovers, dropping the Jets to 2-2 as they enter a stretch of four tough games in their next five.
“We got beat in every phase of the game — offense, defense, special teams, coaching — you name it,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said it. “It shocks me. I never expected for the game to turn out like this. It’s certainly a shock. I don’t know what else to say.”
The Jets had been able to overcome turnover and penalty problems against the Bills last week, but it cost them dearly against the Titans. The Jets committed 10 penalties in the game, a week after setting a franchise record with 20.
“It came back to bite us in the ass in this game,” linebacker Antwan Barnes said.
As bad as the penalties were, the turnovers were what killed the Jets in this game.
Smith’s four turnovers were reminiscent of Mark Sanchez’s five turnovers here last season. Smith even had his own version of the butt umble.
Call it the “behind-the-butt fumble.”
In the fourth quarter, Smith was backpedaling and under pressure when he tried to transfer the football behind his back, against his backside, from his right to left hand. Titans defensive lineman Karl Klug hit Smith’s arm and the ball came loose. Klug jumped on it in the end zone to give the Titans a 31-6 lead and seal the Jets’ fate. The Jets would score a late touchdown and the Titans would tack on another to make it 38-13.
“I’m extremely disappointed in the way I took care of the ball today,” said Smith, who now has 11 turnovers this season, tied with Giants quarterback Eli Manning for the most in the league. “I was just piss-poor. I have to get better from this and get better at that for this team to be a contender.”
After the game, Jets players said Smith went up to teammates individually and vowed he would get better and he would never have a performance like this again.
A steamed Ryan refused to pin all the blame on his rookie signal-caller. He called it a team loss, despite evidence to the contrary. The four turnovers buried the Jets and hampered every other aspect of the team’s game. The defense was left with lousy field position and the offense could not establish a rhythm.
“We just got our butts kicked,” Ryan said. “That team deserves a lot of credit. Did he this particular day give us a chance to win? No, none of us did. We got beat across the board. It wasn’t on one man. It will never be on one man. It’s on all of us.”
Titans quarterback Jake Locker had a big day before getting knocked from the game in the third quarter with a hip injury. Locker completed 18-of-24 for 149 yards and three touchdowns.
The turnover party started on the Jets’ first series. Smith’s first pass of the game was picked off by Titans cornerback Alterraun Verner on a pass intended for Stephen Hill. Titans safety Michael Griffin drilled Hill on the play, sending him to the locker room with a head injury. Hill did not return.
The Titans took the ball over at the Jets’ 18 and needed five plays to reach the end zone. Locker found tight end Delanie Walker for 1-yard touchdown to make it 7-0.
“You give them turnovers, they’re going to take advantage of it,” Barnes said.
That was a theme all day as the Titans cashed in touchdowns on each of Smith’s turnovers. His second turnover came when he scrambled and Titans linebacker Zach Brown swatted the ball out of his hands in the second quarter. Verner recovered and the Titans scored on a Locker pass to Nate Washington seven plays later.
Smith then threw an interception just before halftime that allowed the Titans to go up 24-6 when Locker threw a 16-yard score to Justin Hunter.
Smith finished the day 23-of-34 for 289 yards with the four turnovers. He was sacked five times. The Jets know they will experience Smith’s growing pains, but Ryan said it’s time to get better.
“How many times [are] we going to make that excuse, though?” Ryan said. “One of these days we’ve got to learn from them and it better be soon. This offense, this team we play next is a pretty darn good football team. We better learn in a hurry. It has to get better.”
The Jets knocked Locker out of the game in the third quarter, but still could not mount a comeback.
Now, they face the Falcons in Atlanta next Monday, followed by games with the Steelers, Patriots, Bengals and Saints.
“The schedule’s only going to get harder,” guard Willie Colon said. “It’s for us to make a decision — are we going to stay on that cycle of giving turnovers, penalties and not being efficient helping the defense out or are we going to turn around and be accountable for our actions?”