NFL Week 1 grades: Jets get 'D' after ugly loss, Raiders earn 'A-' for win over Broncos on Monday night

When the Jets hired Adam Gase this offseason, the thought was that he would give the team an offensive boost, but that boost never showed up on Sunday in a game that turned out to be a disastrous debut for the team’s new head coach.

Not only did the Jets lose to a divisional rival 17-16, but they blew their biggest lead at home since 2002. The Jets were leading this game 16-0 with just under four minutes left to play in the third quarter before the Bills mounted a huge comeback with 17 straight points over the final 19 minutes of the game.

For the Jets, the biggest problem in the game was their offense.

The first NFL Sunday is in the books and there’s a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down on the latest episode of the Pick Six Podcast. Listen to the full show below and be sure to subscribe here.

Less than a week ago, Jets quarterback Sam Darnold said Gase’s new offense would be “electric,” but that definitely wasn’t the word Gase used to describe his team after watching his offense put up just 225 yards against Buffalo.

“We were just inept on offense,” Gase said after the game, via SNY.com. “Making mistakes that you can’t make to consistently move the ball.”

To put “inept” in perspective, the Jets defense scored as many points (eight) as the Jets offense.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen did everything he could to give the game away in the first half. Not only did he throw two interceptions, including a pick-six, but he also lost two fumbles for a total of four turnovers. Fortunately for Allen though, the Jets’ “inept” offense was unable to take advantage of all the gifts he was giving them.

Allen’s first turnover came when he lost a fumble on the Bills’ opening possession of the game. The Jets then responded by immediately going three-and-out. Allen fumbled away another possession in the second quarter, and once again, the Jets responded by going three-and-out.

One possession after fumbling it, Allen gave the Jets offense another shot at life when he threw an interception, but once again, the Jets were unable to capitalize. After taking over on Buffalo’s 48-yard line, the Jets drove 21 yards, but came away with zero point due to a missed 45-yard field goal by Kaare Vedvik. The Jets offense scored zero points off of three turnovers. (The only points the Jets got off of Buffalo’s four turnovers came when Allen threw a pick-six to C.J. Mosley).

Darnold was a big part of the problem for the Jets. Not only did he throw for just 175 yards, but he overthrew his receivers multiple times in a game where he went 28 of 41. Of course, you can’t completely blame Allen, and that’s because part of the problem is that he never looked fully comfortable playing behind a porous offensive line for the Jets. Darnold was sacked four times and was pressured nearly every time he dropped back to pass.

One way the Jets could have possibly slowed that pressure down is by running the ball, but Gase seemed to forget about the fact that he has Le’Veon Bell on his team, which is kind of weird considering the Jets just gave Bell a four-year, $52.5 million deal in March.

In a game where the Jets were in the mostly in the lead, Gase refused to give the ball to Bell, who had just 17 carries compared to Darnold’s 41 pass attempts. On one hand, it would make sense if Gase wanted to ease Bell into things — after all, it had been 602 days since he last played a game — but once the game started, Gase should have noticed that Bell was completely fresh. The running back totaled 60 yards on the ground and scored the Jets’ only offensive touchdown on a nine-yard catch in the third quarter.

If Gase doesn’t figure how to get his offense jumpstarted soon, the 2019 season could turn into a disastrous one for the Jets.

You can watch the replays, including in condensed and all-22 formats, with NFL Game Pass.