Overview
- In a tie game late on Sunday the Jets ran a shotgun handoff to Braelon Allen on fourth-and-1 from midfield, Allen was stopped for no gain, New York turned the ball over on downs and later lost 20-17 in overtime.
- On Thursday Reich told reporters the team’s three- and five-year studies — which exclude quarterback sneaks — show shotgun direct runs convert about 71% of the time on fourth-and-1 versus roughly 67% for under-center runs and 57% for passes.
- Reich said a quarterback sneak was not favored because the Jets needed nearly a full yard, not a half-yard, and only a handful of teams are statistically elite at sneaks, so the analytics pointed to a gun run as the best-percentage play.
- Reich acknowledged other mistakes on offense, including end-of-half clock and personnel errors, said “I’ve got to do a better job,” and the staff’s late-game clock management has put head coach Aaron Glenn under extra scrutiny.
- The Jets say they are moving on to a short-week game at Detroit, a matchup against one of the league’s weaker defenses, and the failed call puts added spotlight on the team’s short-yardage strategy and in-game decision process.