EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Josh McCown committed a slapstick fumble that resembled the infamous Bubby Brister shovel pass in 1995. Same opponent, same result. McCown's teammates contributed to the loss with dumb penalties, a killer drop in the end zone and terrible punt coverage.
Yeah, you can blame the players for the New York Jets' 37-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers, but the coaches must bear responsibility, too -- specifically, offensive coordinator John Morton.
Trailing by a point at the start of the fourth quarter, the Jets drove to the Panthers' 1-yard line. They had three shots at a go-ahead touchdown. MetLife Stadium was alive on a crisp day, sensing a monster upset that would've kept alive their faint playoff hopes. The Jets had frustrated Cam Newton throughout the day, rattling him after his silly Superman celebration in the second quarter. Now they had a chance to finish off a 75-yard drive, except Morton lost his mind and called three straight pass plays.
Result: Three straight incomplete passes. The field goal gave them a 20-18 lead, but it was a total buzzkill. Morton didn't trust his offensive line and running backs to pick up 3 feet.
"Hindsight is 20/20," head coach Todd Bowles said after his fifth loss in the past six games. "We had a touchdown if we held on to the football. We didn't hold on to the football."
Bowles was alluding to the second-down pass to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, a high fade in which an apparent touchdown was overruled by replay. Yes, he bobbled it just a bit, but it was a tough play. It wasn't like his first-quarter faux pas, when he dropped what should've been a gimme touchdown.
On first down, McCown rolled out, looking for Seferian-Jenkins or running back Bilal Powell. Neither player was open, so he threw it away.
After the second-down miss to Seferian-Jenkins (this guy can't catch a break from replay, can he?), Morton went to the air again. The first read was to Robby Anderson on the left side -- not open -- so McCown scrambled to his right. At the last second, he tried to squeeze a pass to running back Matt Forte in the back of the end zone. It wasn't close.
How about a running play? If you're going to throw, how about play-action?
"That hurt us not to get seven there, and obviously, it was a bummer on the touchdown call," McCown said. "We have to be better, and those areas we have to improve. We've been pretty good this year down there, so it's frustrating that we didn't finish that one."
Like clockwork, the epic failure at the 1 triggered the fourth-quarter meltdown. With defensive end Wes Horton wrapped around his waist, McCown uncorked a Garo Yepremian-type pass that was ruled a fumble. It was scooped up by Luke Kuechly and returned 34 yards for a touchdown. Back in '95, Sam Mills intercepted a shovel pass (yes, really!) and scored on a 36-yard return for a go-ahead touchdown. It was eerily similar.
This time, the Jets continued to give away the game with an avalanche of mistakes, but it was curious playcalling at the 1 that loomed large. Bowles didn't interject, letting Morton handle those calls.
"He calls the game," Bowles said. "When I feel like I need to add input, I add."
He made it clear: Those were on Morton.
"None of the plays worked," Bowles said with a bitter tone, "so it doesn't really matter."