Jaguars went for TD, two points at end of runaway victory, angering Jets
The New York Jets probably won’t see the Jacksonville Jaguars again for some time, and that’s for the best. Because the Jets have plenty of reasons to want a piece of Jacksonville after Sunday’s demolition.
Here’s the story. Up 25-12, the Jaguars got the ball back with 4:22 remaining in the game. They spent most of the rest of the game marching down the field. Jacksonville forced the Jets to burn the last of their timeouts, and then called two different timeouts of their own inside the final 2:10. The Jaguars were in the red zone for that entire time, using T.J. Yeldon to hammer away at the Jets line.
Finally, with 27 seconds remaining, the Jaguars on the New York 1, and the clock running, Jacksonville called a timeout. On the next play, Yeldon busted into the end zone, jacking the score to 31-12.
Oh, but the Jaguars weren’t done. Head coach Doug Marrone called for a two-point conversion. It failed, but the indignity of the pile-on didn’t sit well with the Jets.
Jets were displeased with the move
“That’s just what they felt that they wanted to do,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said after the game. “Whether it was a statement or not, we’ll never know. But we won’t forget.”
“I think it’s really disrespectful … but at the same time, I think it’s up to us to gain that respect from other teams and if teams are disrespecting us, it must say something about us,” defensive end Leonard Williams said. “That’s how I took it. i took it really personal and I didn’t like it at all.”
Marrone interviewed with the Jets a few years back, but the team eventually went with Todd Bowles. When asked if Jacksonville was trying to send a message by running up the score, Marrone replied, “We’re not good enough to send a message right now.”
When asked about the two-pointer after the game, Marrone simply said, “The chart said go for two.” Which it does … when the other team might be in a position to score three touchdowns. The Jets would have had difficulty doing that in 25 seconds.
What were the gambling implications?
For the gambling-minded among you, the over/under on this game was 40.5 points. So Yeldon’s touchdown took this one from the under to the over, meaning money changed hands and bettors cursed/praised Marrone’s name.
Of course, it’s possible that Marrone was simply following the ethos of football: never give your opponent even the slightest chance. Some of the Jets after the game agreed with that philosophy.
“You know what, man? It’s football,” receiver Quincy Enunwa said. “Where’s the class in football? At the end of the day, we try to be warriors and have all this war mentality. And so if that’s how we want to be, then we can’t be upset when somebody does that. We want to be all this macho stuff … If I was a head coach and I wanted to make a statement for not only this team that we’re playing, but for us and the rest of the teams that we’re playing, I’m going to let the guys know that I’m stepping on your throat. So that’s what he did.”
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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