Jets Country

Jets' Michael Carter Opens Up About Costly Fumble in Loss to Bills

Carter's fumble late in the fourth quarter was a blow for New York as they tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Max Goodman

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The Jets were driving against the Bills in the fourth quarter on Sunday, poised to put more points on the board after a blocked punt and a safety.

Instead of another fourth quarter comeback, however, the Jets were stripped of all momentum when Michael Carter lurched forward, coughing up the football on a carry with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"Just trying to make a play," Carter told reporters in Buffalo on Sunday after the 20-12 loss. "Understanding where we were at in the game, we needed a touchdown. Ran power. Opened up like Disney World and I just tried to go score a touchdown. Might've been Taron Johnson? Tried to run him over, tried to crank him up. And then he made a good play. Lot of credit to him."

Carter's fumble came on a second-down play deep in Bills territory. Even if they didn't score a touchdown on that drive, a field goal would've made it a one-possession game with just about five minutes remaining, plenty of time to make something happen.

New York was able to get the football back relatively quickly after a three-and-out on defense, but they didn't make it an eight-point game until 78 seconds were left on the game clock.

"I want nothing more than to be able to help the guys win," said Carter, who ran for only five yards on five carries in the loss. "You've got to win the turnover battle to win the game. ... I wanted to apologize to everyone else."

Carter profiled as New York's RB1 when rookie Breece Hall suffered his season-ending knee injury, a chance for the second-year back to settle back into his role as a starter. He's had a few solid performances since then—Carter rushed for 76 yards with a touchdown in New York's win over the Bills in Week 9—but has cooled off recently. Carter has 45 rushing yards on 19 attempts in his last three games, watching over the last two weeks as rookie Zonovan Knight has established himself as the Jets' most effective ballcarrier. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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