FLORHAM PARK (N.J.) -- A butt fumble, and a butt wipe. Ligaments mangled. A ghost sighting. A villain returning. Blowouts. Lots of blowouts. Tears in locker room. An unforgivable Snapchat was taken in the locker room. A long, late night enemy celebration, complete with margaritas and lots of margaritas.
America, get ready: The New York Jets are back at prime time. This usually means night terrors for this franchise, which has the longest active playoff drought in the NFL.
Boomer Esiason, a former quarterback, said that "when the Jets are at prime time," "expect to the unexpected."
Although the Jets have lost six consecutive games and 17 of their 23 last night games, which dates back to 2012's Butt Fumble, there is more to their recent nocturnal history. They don't lose often, but they also lose frequently in terrible fashion.
Famous clunkers are also the responsibility of the franchise that produced the Monday Night Miracle in 2000, one of the most memorable games. The Jets (2-5) are determined to change their culture of losing. They will be making a debut at Lucas Oil Stadium (8:00 p.m.) to face the Indianapolis Colts (3-3). ET, Fox/NFL Network
New coach, mostly new team. What is the new karma?
C.J. Mosley, linebacker, stated that "we're certainly moving in the right direction. But we've got to ensure that we don't allow a victory such as (last Sunday's) get to our heads." Mosley referring to their win over the Cincinnati Bengals, led by quarterback Mike White. You can win these games if you do the right thing. We have to go to the next stage. Don't let a big win fool you. Keep going.
Although a national game is the best stage, the Jets are prone to shrinking under the spotlight.
Let's start with the Butt Fumble game. Their winning percentage in primetime (.304, 6-17), is actually lower than their winning percentage daytime (.364, 43–75), though Bart Scott, a former linebacker, claimed there's no difference.
In 2012, the Jets' "Butt Fumble" loss began a streak in which they lost 17 of 23 prime time games. Chris Szagola/Cal Sport Media/Zuma Press
He said, "I don’t believe it’s a prime time thing; it’s a Jets have-sucked thing." They could be at any time: 1 o’clock, 3 or 5 o’clock, and they are all losing them."
Scott was playing for Jets on Thanksgiving Night 2012 when quarterback Mark Sanchez ran into Brandon Moore's rear end and coughed the ball. The Butt Fumble was born. It was a sign of the end of an era that had been prosperous and it brought about ten years of hardship.
Scott, now a ESPN radio and TV personality, said that every team has a blooper they would rather eliminate. Things live forever, which is the good thing about New York. Things live forever, which is the bad thing about New York.
Esiason worked as a radio analyst at the game.
He said, "I knew from the first moment it happened that it would be something etched into eternity for the Jets fan." The Butt Fumble would have been engraved into a headstone if you had one for the Jets.
After a terrible performance against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night, Sanchez wept in his locker room when coach Rex Ryan told him that his time as starting quarterback was done. This was a pivotal moment for the franchise.
In 2018, the Jets were again ridiculed when running back Isaiah Crowell scored against his former team, the Cleveland Browns. He pretended to wipe his backside with a football before throwing it into the Cleveland crowd. The league fined him $13,000 and he was also reprimanded. This incident also drew the ire from Todd Bowles, his coach.
Crowell's mother also didn't like it. According to ESPN, her mother was also shocked by Crowell's crude gesture at her Georgia home. Isaiah reacted quickly and signed an endorsement deal for Dude Wipes. The product was a toilet paper substitute for men.
Isaiah Crowell, a former Jets running back, celebrated in a 2018 prime time game. However, the Jets lost the game. USA Today
The Jets lost by 14 points in Cleveland that night and were defeated 21-17. In Baker Mayfield's debut as quarterback, the Browns ended a 19-game losing streak.
The Jets were caught in a PR saga in 2016. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, safety Rontez Miles and safety Rontez Mills created a Snapchat video inside the locker room. It included profanity as well as derogatory comments about women. The video's aftermath was more significant than the 34-13 loss.
Sam Darnold was the quarterback who suffered more embarrassment. His "ghost" moment on Monday night in 2019 will be remembered forever. Darnold told a coach at the sideline that he was seeing ghosts during a four-interception nightmare against Patriots.
Quarterbacks use this expression sometimes when they are confused. They think they see defenders that aren't there. It somehow made it through the TV gatekeepers and was broadcast on television. Within minutes, it went viral. The Jets lost 33-0. Darnold was a great guy in many ways.
Esiason stated, "That was unfair." Esiason said, "That shouldn't have happened to him."
The Jets' quarterbacks have not been well treated in prime time. Trevor Siemian, who was starting in place of Darnold, sustained a season-ending ankle injury from Cleveland's Myles Garrett. It happened in a 23-3 defeat. A.J. Johnson, a Denver Broncos' linebacker, slammed Darnold to the ground in 2020. Johnson caused Darnold to miss four games due to a shoulder injury, and accelerated the end of his Jets career.
The Jets lost that night by 37 to 28 to Brett Rypien, a third-string quarterback making his debut in a career. The game effectively ended Adam Gase’s tenure as a coach, even though he was permitted to finish the season. This caused a lot of fan outrage.
Ryan was fired by the Jets in 2015. He returned to Buffalo as the Bills' coach in 2015 and took aim at his former team in a much-anticipated grudge match. Ryan made IK Enemkpali, backup linebacker to Ryan, a game captain -- the exact same Enemkpali who was punched in the face by Geno Smith a few months prior.
Ryan was there to celebrate that evening. He was a great host. The Bills' post-game meal was catered by his favorite New Jersey Mexican restaurant, which also served margaritas on the return flight. Rex and his team enjoyed free drinks as they celebrated their 22-17 win.
Why is the Jets so terrible in prime-time? Night games are a different practice schedule and require players to be more prepared mentally and physically than they would in a normal week. Scott says that this can prove to be problematic for inexperienced players.
He said that prime-time games require more preparation and routine. This is because many people don't practice routines as they don't play in prime time games very often.
The bottom line is that the Jets haven't been good sufficient. This is the bottom line: The Jets have not been good enough. They've only reached the 30-point mark twice in their last 23 games. Darnold's NFL debut in 2018's opener was the highlight. A 48-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. Since that night 54 games ago, the Jets have not been above.500.
The Jets are determined to turn around the negative vibes. The roster includes half of the players who weren't there last season. Nine rookies are also on the team. They were just teenagers when Sanchez crashed into their teammate's butt. So they don't know the history. It is said that ignorance is bliss.
White, the Jets' one game quarterback sensation, was in Florida preparing for a high school playoff game. After an unlikely sequence of events, White hopes to make a difference in the Jets' dark past.
Robert Saleh, White's coach, said that White's sudden rise was "pretty cool to be watching."
Mike White, Ghost Buster? Tune in.
