New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh seemed to lose his cool.
Following a 37-20 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Saleh was asked why he wasn’t angrier about the team’s struggles overall during the press conference.
“Uhm… [four seconds of silence], I’m not quite sure on the question Rich [Cimini],” Saleh responded on Thursday, December 28. “Do you want me to throw the podium on the floor?”
Saleh Left Speechless About Biggest Jets Issues
The Jets were penalized 12 times for 74 yards against the Browns on Thursday Night Football. While Cleveland was only penalized four times for 26 yards.
Things got a little testy at the end of the presser between Rich Cimini of ESPN & #Jets HC Robert Saleh.
Cimini said Saleh didn’t seem particularly angry & he asked him to share what’s really churning inside of him?
‘Uhm… [4 second pause], I’m not quite sure on the question… pic.twitter.com/JJWlkQvvop
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) December 29, 2023
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic told Saleh that his team has committed 26 penalties combined over the last two weeks.
“Yeah uhm I gotta figure it out, I gotta figure it out. There was a lot of pre-snap stuff today, a lot of pre-snap stuff. I gotta figure it out,” Saleh responded.
The media pressed him further about the penalty issues especially since most of them were “fundamental stuff.”
Saleh repeated the same line saying, “uhm… I gotta figure it out.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh was left speechless when he was peppered with questions by the media about his team’s 12 penalties for 74 yards vs the #Browns & the 26 combined penalties over the last 2 weeks:
‘I gotta figure it out’ + ‘uhm… I gotta figure it out’ 😳
🎥 @nyjets… pic.twitter.com/CCMcEE2ucX
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) December 29, 2023
Jets Defense Got Run out of Cleveland
The green and white entered Week 17 boasting one of the best defenses in football. They certainly didn’t leave that way.
Gang Green hadn’t allowed a 300+ yard passer in 33 straight games. Joe Flacco, the former Jet, had 296 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in the first half.
296 yards and 3 TDs in the first half? ELITE.#TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/cKTQeicGfY
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) December 29, 2023
Flacco ended up finishing with 309 passing yards. A credit to the Jets’ defense for stiffening up in the second half, but also the Browns held a massive lead and no longer needed to throw the football.
The Jets allowed five touchdowns and 428 yards of offense. That would be bad under any circumstance, but Rich Cimini of ESPN said it’s even worse when you consider the Browns were on their fourth quarterback and they were missing their top wide receiver (Amari Cooper) and top running back (Nick Chubb).
“Fourth straight double-digit loss season for [the Jets, now at 6-10]. Looked dead on a short week, especially the defense. No answers for Flacco, who made the Jets see what they could’ve had. [The] Jets were poorly prepared. That’s on Saleh,” Cimini explained.
FINAL: Browns 37, Jets 20
Fourth straight double-digit loss season for #Jets (6-10). Looked dead on a short week, especially the defense. No answers for Flacco, who made the Jets see what they could’ve had.
Jets were poorly prepared. That’s on Saleh.
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 29, 2023
Saleh was already told that he and general manager Joe Douglas would return for the 2024 season. The Jets played and coached like they were already thinking about 2024 when there was and is still work to be done in 2023.
Now all that is left for the Jets is a final road trip to New England to play the Patriots.
Gang Green has lost 15 games in a row to New England. That is the longest active losing streak for any individual team to the same opponent. The Patriots have the Jets number and the regular season finale won’t be easy.
The Jets have lost 7 of their last 10 contests. While on the other hand, the Patriots have won two of their last three games.
New England would love nothing more than to stick it to the Jets one more time and send them to the offseason with 16 straight losses. While on the other side of the coin, the Jets want to end this embarrassing streak and have some positive vibes heading into a pivotal offseason.
