On Sunday, January 1 it was a quasi-playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets.
Although according to veteran tight end Tyler Conklin it didn’t feel that way in a conversation with Jeane Coakley of SNY:
“You come into a game like this and it’s basically a playoff game. If we win next week would have been too. It just didn’t feel like a playoff game atmosphere on our side of the ball. In my opinion, we were flat at times and I don’t know why that is. That’s not on anybody specifically it was just kind of the feeling I had on the sideline. We just seemed kind of flat. That is kind of the main thing that is in my brain right now coming off of the field.”
Tyler Conklin talks with @JeaneCoakley about today’s game and what went wrong for the Jets:
“It just didn’t feel like a playoff atmosphere on our side of the ball… we just seemed kind of flat.” t.co/SzXOBsPWmR
The former Central Michigan product signed with the Jets this offseason on a three-year deal for $21 million. Prior to joining the Jets, he was on the 2019 Minnesota Vikings team that went to the playoffs.
This Has Been a Jets Problem All Season Long
All season long the Jets have struggled to get going early in games.
Gang Green earned the moniker of the comeback kids and was this incredible fourth-quarter team for much of the season.
The reason why they had to live up to that reputation is that they consistently started games so flat that they had no other choice but to scramble to get back into these football games.
However, you would think knowing the circumstances heading into this game that it would have been a point of emphasis. Instead, it was the same song and dance.
On the first play from scrimmage, Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker II took the carry 60 yards to the Jets 13 yard line.
Seattle would end up scoring a touchdown on that drive to go up 7-0 at the 13:25 mark of the first quarter.
On the very next drive, Mike White threw a bad interception and the Seahawks immediately converted that turnover into a field goal.
Before you could blink it was a 10-0 Seattle lead in the first quarter. While the Seahawks didn’t know it at the time, that was already enough points to win the game.
Seattle ended up winning 23-6 and kept their own playoff hopes alive while simultaneously extinguishing the Jets’ dreams.
Social Media Reacts to Tyler Conklin’s Eyebrow Raising Comments
Conklin’s comments caught a lot of people off guard with how forthcoming he was willing to be about his own observations.
@snyjets @JeaneCoakley Why though this was a must win game why did y’all come out flat?
One Twitter user asked the million-dollar question, how with everything that was clearly on the line is it even remotely possible to come out flat? A question we may never get the answer to.
Home of the Jets on Twitter said it’s never a good look when a player admits the team was “flat.” Additionally, he said that’s a direct “indictment on coaching.”
When a team collapses like this going from 6-3 to 7-9 so far with one game to go, normally heads roll. Someone has to be the sacrificial lamb to pay for the sins of this season.
A lot of fans argued that the man responsible is offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. One Twitter user said he needs to go.
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$21 Million Jets Veteran Gets Brutally Honest About Playoff Failure