It may not have felt like it at the time, but believe it or not, there were some positives to take away from the Jets 23-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Monday night football, but there was also a whole lot of ugly as Adam Gase and company looked lost at times.
Quarterbacks: C-
It’s tough to grade the QB’s fairly as they were harassed for much of the night and were asked to keep the ball within a few yards of the line of scrimmage when they dropped back to pass. Making his NFL debut, Luke Falk actually looked better than veteran Trevor Siemian.
| Att-Comp | Yds | TD | INT | |
| Siemian | 3 – 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Falk | 20-25 | 198 | 0 | 0 |
Running Backs: C
Le’Veon Bell averaged just 3.2 yards per attempt but that was a direct result of the Browns showing no respect for Jets quarterbacks and stacking the box against an offensive line that is playing bad football right now. A late fumble didn’t help Bell’s grade either.
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| Bell | 21 | 68 | 3.2 | 0 |
| Montgomery | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 |
Wide Receivers: C-
The wide receivers were invisible tonight, but you might expect that in a game plan that ignores their presence for the first three quarters of the contest. Opportunities were few and far between for the receivers but Robby Anderson still managed to catch 4 balls for 80 yards and Jamison Crowder had a few garbage time catches. Not a productive night, but due more to game plan than play. Josh Bellamy did have a drop that contributed to the Jets having to punt it away before the half, leading to a Browns field goal.
| Rec | Yds | TD | Targets | |
| Anderson | 4 | 81 | 0 | 6 |
| Crowder | 4 | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| Bellamy | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Thomas | 1 | -1 | 0 | 2 |
TIght Ends: F
The tight end group had a total of 1 target on the night. No effort to get them to ball behind a defense that stacked the line. Incomplete.
| Rec | Yds | TD | Targets | |
| Griffin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Offensive Line: F
One of the worst efforts we’ve seen in a while and the stacked boxes didn’t help. Kelvin Beachum was abused by Myles Garrett all night long and Ryan Kalil was replaced by Jonotthan Harrison in the second half. This unit should see some changes in the starting lineup in the near future.
Defensive Line: C-
Gregg Williams asked a lot of his defensive line tonight and they helped keep the Jets in this contest. Running back Nick Chubb did have a 19-yard rushing TD, but was quiet the rest of the night as he was held to just 3.4 yards per carry. Leonard Williams had just one tackle. After years of touting the things Williams does well, the fact of the matter is that he doesn’t do enough to justify his salary. Barring a shocking uptick in production, this should be his final year as a Jet.
Linebackers: B
Jordan Jenkins was knocked out of the game early on, meaning he’d be on the shelf along with Avery Williamson and CJ Mosley. In their place, Neville Hewitt and Blake Cashman combined for 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pair of tackles for loss. The ‘backers also played a role in containing the Browns ground game.
Secondary: C+
One big play that allowed Odell Beckham to score on a 89 yard pass would mar an otherwise solid night from this group. Jerry Hairston started in place of the benched Trumaine Johnson and he held up well against the Browns dynamic receivers. Darryl Roberts also had an impressive interception while Brian Poole had a pair of pass break-ups. Jamal Adams led the team with five tackles (1 for loss) and Marcus Maye broke up a pass of his own.
Coaching: F+
Adam Gase was content to allow Myles Garrett to eat Kelvin Beachum’s lunch all day and gave him no help. We saw no rollouts to give the defense another look to consider or give the QB’s some more time, tight ends were non-existent and didn’t allow his quarterback to challenge the secondary. Avoids an “F” for benching Trumaine Johnson and Ryan Kalil, so there’s that.