Does New York Jets Coach Regret Keeping Veteran Kicker After Patriots Loss?

The New York Jets fell by three points to the New England Patriots and the four points loss on kicks by Greg Zuerlein could have helped.

Oct 14, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein (9) misses a field goal during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Coaches try not put a win or a loss on one player. But it’s hard not to take a long, hard look at New York Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein after Sunday’s 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Zuerlein was already under fire going into the game after key misses in previous games. The noise only got worse after Sunday’s game.

After the Jets scored their first touchdown of the game on a touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to tight end Tyler Conklin, Zuerlein came on for the extra point but pulled it hard left to allow the Patriots to keep a slim 7-6 lead.

He made a 29-yard field goal with 7:54 left in the third quarter to push the Jets ahead, 16-14. But, that extra point was still the difference. Early in the fourth quarter, he got a chance to push the Jets ahead by five points with a 44-yard attempt with 12:39 left in the game.

Zuerlein pulled that one, too.

So, when the Jets scored a touchdown late in the game to go ahead by five points, they were forced to go for two points to push their lead to seven points thanks to those misses. The Jets missed the conversion and the Patriots went on to win the game on their next drive.

So, does Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich regret keeping Zuerlein? That was the question posed to him after Sunday’s game?

His answer was quick.

“No, I do not,” he said.

A couple of weeks ago the Jets brought in three kickers for tryouts after their loss to Buffalo —Riley Patterson, Cade York and Matt Coghlin. Zuerlein admitted to some mechanical issues after the Bills loss.

At that point, Zuerlein was 6-of-10 on field goals this season and had already made some key misses.

Against Denver in Week 4 he missed a 50-yarder that would have won the game. The Jets lost that game, 10-9, but he accounted for all nine of New York’s points that day.

Then, two weeks later against Buffalo, he went 2-for-4 on field goals and missed two in the second half that could have given the Jets the lead. In fact, had he made both kicks, the Jets would have beaten the Bills.

What makes it worse is that both attempts hit the upright, meaning he was extremely close to making one or both. One kick was from 32 yards and one was from 43 yards.

No kicker has missed more field goals in the NFL this season than Zuerlein, a 13-year veteran who joined the Jets in 2022 and had been reliable in his first two seasons in New York.