Tua Tagovailoa’s big day crushes Jets

The Jets lost to the Dolphins 24-17 Sunday afternoon.

The 2021 NFL season progresses, but the smiles of Jets fans aren’t forming.

On Sunday afternoon, in front of the Florham Park faithful at MetLife Stadium, the Jets lost yet again. This time, to the Miami Dolphins by a score of 24-17.

The performance of the Jets defense was superior to that of recent weeks. However, the 11-man unit still allowed Tua Tagovailoa to construct a notable performance.

The second-year Dolphins quarterback finished with 273 yards and two touchdowns on 27-of-33 passing and put together one of his better games of this current 2021 campaign.

One of the main goals for New York entering this AFC East battle was to improve on the defensive side of the ball. And while that did indeed occur (remember: the Jets allowed 45 points in both Weeks 9 and 10), Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich’s group didn’t do enough to keep the Jets in the game.

Gang Green needed to put pressure on Tua in order to disrupt his rhythm and prevent him from fully going through his progressions. The Jets didn’t notch a single sack though — the lack of a significant pass rush played a crucial role in the Jets’ issues in the deep part of the field.

So now, the Jets sit at 2-8 in what’s been a disastrous season thus far. Not many fans thought this would be a year full of peaches and cream, but instead, one full of development and progress en route to a hopefully successful 2022 season.

But this current campaign has been a nightmare, to say the least. When the offense has some life, the defense can’t step up. And vice versa.

Will the Jets bounce back against the putrid Texans next Sunday?

Follow Ryan Honey on Twitter: @RyanHoneyESNY