Offensive Miscues Cost Jets in Preseason Loss to Bucs

Three turnovers and key penalties sink Gang Green in third exhibition game

The New York Jets were unable to find the end zone on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. 

After a pair of first-half field goals, Gang Green was held scoreless over the final 30:00 in a 13-6 preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The Green & White lost fumbles in the second and fourth quarters and were denied on the doorstep by a third-quarter redzone interception. Meanwhile, the visiting Bucs played a turnover-free game.

"On the entire offensive side of the ball, the ball security wasn't good enough today," said Jets' third-year head coach Robert Saleh.

Gang Green committed four offensive holding penalties and averaged only 4.8 yards per pass attempt.

"Turnovers, penalties, good old preseason football, but a lot of good tape that we can look at," said Saleh. "A lot of guys did a lot of really good things and some guys not so much."

Quarterback Zach Wilson was the team's leading rusher with 41 yards on two carries. Excluding Wilson's exciting 35-yard scamper, the Jets managed only two rushing first downs the entire night.

As for Wilson's performance through the air, the former No. 2 overall draft pick went 9-of-13 passing for 70 yards. 

"Those guys did a good job of disguising, they gave us some tough looks, some funky fronts," said Wilson. "It’s going to be a good learning experience to be able to go back and watch. I think we had some good, easy completions underneath, but I would love to see if there was more to them."

Tim Boyle relieved Wilson at the start of the second half and proceeded to go 13-of-24 passing for 106 yards and one interception. After marching 64 yards to the Bucs' 6 on the opening possession of the third quarter, Boyle saw a pass bounce out of the hands of receiver TJ Luther. Tampa cornerback Dee Delaney was able to corral the deflected ball before it hit the turf.

Undrafted rookie Jason Brownlee caught four of six targets for 50 yards to lead the Jets in receiving.

A first-half fumble by running back Zonovan Knight led to the Bucs' first points of the game — a Rodrigo Blankenship 35-yard field goal that tied the scored at 3-3 with 9:41 to go until the break. Knight finished with 33 yards on eight carries to go along with three receptions for 20 yards.

Fifth-round rookie Israel Abanikanda carried four times for 30 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a reported thigh contusion. 

Interior lineman Joe Tippmann, who started the game at left guard and later moved to center, suffered a knee injury according to Saleh, who was unsure of the severity. Tight end Kenny Yeboah left the game due to a hamstring.

Kyle Trask's 33-yard second-quarter strike to Trey Palmer was the lone touchdown of the night. The Bucs' signal caller went 20-of-28 passing for 218 yards and the one score.

Undrafted rookie Trey Dean led the Jets with a game-high nine tackles. He was part of the three-safety defensive alignment that started the game along with Adrian Amos and Ashtyn Davis. 

With the majority of their first-teamers watching from the sideline, the starting defense forced Tampa Bay to punt on its first three possessions, which included two three-and-outs. 

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