October 29th, 2017. The Jets hosted the Atlanta Falcons, and after the Falcons won the coin toss and deferred, the Jets received the opening kickoff. Starting at the team’s 25-year line, the Jets marched 75 yards down the field in 8 plays, scoring a touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Josh McCown to Eric Tomlinson.
That wasn’t particularly noteworthy at the time — in fact, it was the third straight game the 3-4 Jets had scored a touchdown on New York’s first drive. But since then, the Jets have consistently disappointed on opening drives. In fact, over the Jets last 21 game, their opening drives have ended in 15 punts, 3 field goals, 2 fumbles, and 1 interception:
| Date ▼ |
Opp | Result | Plays | Length | Yds | Qtr | Time | LOS | Tm | Opp | Qtr | Time | Last LOS | Tm | Opp | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-12-09 | @ | BUF | W 27-23 | 3 ( 0 P, 3 R, 1 Y) | 2:27 | 9 | 1 | 09:12 | Own 14 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 06:45 | Own 23 | 0 | 7 | Punt |
| 2018-12-02 | @ | TEN | L 26-22 | 8 ( 3 P, 4 R, 1 Y) | 3:43 | 25 | 1 | 13:18 | Own 39 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 09:35 | Opp 36 | 3 | 0 | Field Goal |
| 2018-11-25 | NWE | L 27-13 | 7 ( 4 P, 3 R, 0 Y) | 3:32 | 20 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11:28 | Own 45 | 0 | 0 | Punt | |
| 2018-11-11 | BUF | L 41-10 | 3 ( 2 P, 1 R, 0 Y) | 1:28 | 4 | 1 | 14:11 | Own 25 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 12:43 | Own 29 | 0 | 7 | Punt | |
| 2018-11-04 | @ | MIA | L 13-6 | 3 ( 2 P, 1 R, 0 Y) | 2:09 | 8 | 1 | 13:01 | Own 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:52 | Own 23 | 0 | 0 | Punt |
| 2018-10-28 | @ | CHI | L 24-10 | 3 ( 1 P, 2 R, 1 Y) | 1:58 | 1 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:02 | Own 26 | 0 | 0 | Punt |
| 2018-10-21 | MIN | L 37-17 | 5 ( 3 P, 2 R, 0 Y) | 2:55 | 19 | 1 | 13:22 | Own 13 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10:27 | Own 32 | 0 | 7 | Punt | |
| 2018-10-14 | IND | W 42-34 | 13 ( 5 P, 7 R, 0 Y) | 7:43 | 69 | 1 | 12:16 | Own 19 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 04:33 | Opp 12 | 10 | 7 | Field Goal | |
| 2018-10-07 | DEN | W 34-16 | 2 ( 0 P, 2 R, 0 Y) | 0:50 | 3 | 1 | 11:24 | Own 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:34 | Own 19 | 0 | 0 | Fumble | |
| 2018-09-30 | @ | JAX | L 31-12 | 4 ( 2 P, 2 R, 1 Y) | 2:41 | 27 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:19 | Opp 48 | 0 | 0 | Punt |
| 2018-09-20 | @ | CLE | L 21-17 | 3 ( 2 P, 1 R, 0 Y) | 1:41 | -4 | 1 | 14:05 | Own 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:24 | Own 25 | 0 | 0 | Punt |
| 2018-09-16 | MIA | L 20-12 | 5 ( 3 P, 2 R, 1 Y) | 3:15 | 10 | 1 | 12:24 | Own 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 09:09 | Own 14 | 0 | 0 | Punt | |
| 2018-09-10 | @ | DET | W 48-17 | 1 ( 1 P, 0 R, 0 Y) | 0:20 | 0 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:40 | Own 25 | 0 | 6 | Interception |
| 2017-12-31 | @ | NWE | L 26-6 | 3 ( 0 P, 3 R, 1 Y) | 1:51 | 5 | 1 | 09:30 | Own 13 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 07:39 | Own 18 | 0 | 7 | Punt |
| 2017-12-24 | LAC | L 14-7 | 5 ( 3 P, 2 R, 2 Y) | 2:56 | 2 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:04 | 50 | 0 | 0 | Punt | |
| 2017-12-17 | @ | NOR | L 31-19 | 6 ( 3 P, 3 R, 1 Y) | 3:04 | 12 | 1 | 11:36 | Own 20 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 08:32 | Own 32 | 0 | 3 | Punt |
| 2017-12-10 | @ | DEN | L 23-0 | 3 ( 1 P, 2 R, 0 Y) | 1:34 | -5 | 1 | 09:02 | Own 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 07:28 | Own 24 | 0 | 3 | Fumble |
| 2017-12-03 | KAN | W 38-31 | 3 ( 1 P, 2 R, 0 Y) | 1:40 | 0 | 1 | 12:22 | Own 20 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10:42 | Own 20 | 0 | 7 | Punt | |
| 2017-11-26 | CAR | L 35-27 | 10 ( 5 P, 4 R, 0 Y) | 4:42 | 55 | 1 | 09:55 | Own 32 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 05:13 | Opp 13 | 3 | 3 | Field Goal | |
| 2017-11-12 | @ | TAM | L 15-10 | 3 ( 1 P, 2 R, 1 Y) | 1:54 | 0 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:06 | Own 9 | 0 | 0 | Punt |
| 2017-11-02 | BUF | W 34-21 | 3 ( 0 P, 3 R, 0 Y) | 1:51 | 9 | 1 | 15:00 | Own 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:09 | Own 35 | 0 | 0 | Punt | |
How bad is that? New York is the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored an opening drive touchdown over that time period. The table below shows the percentage of opening drives that went for a touchdown or a score, and the average points scored (assigning 7 points for each touchdown) per opening drive, for each team since the middle of last season: the Jets are averaging just 0.43 points per opening drive; all other teams are over 1 point, while the Saints, Chiefs, Patriots, and Rams are all over 3 points per opening drive.
| Rk | Tm | #Dr | TD % | Score % | Pts/Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saints | 22 | 45.5% | 68.2% | 3.86 |
| 2 | Chiefs | 22 | 45.5% | 63.6% | 3.73 |
| 3 | Patriots | 21 | 42.9% | 57.1% | 3.43 |
| 4 | Rams | 22 | 36.4% | 59.1% | 3.23 |
| 5 | Vikings | 21 | 38.1% | 42.9% | 2.81 |
| 6 | Falcons | 22 | 27.3% | 54.5% | 2.73 |
| 7 | Ravens | 21 | 28.6% | 47.6% | 2.57 |
| 8 | Steelers | 21 | 33.3% | 38.1% | 2.48 |
| 9 | Colts | 20 | 35% | 35% | 2.45 |
| 10 | Raiders | 21 | 28.6% | 42.9% | 2.43 |
| 10 | Panthers | 21 | 28.6% | 42.9% | 2.43 |
| 12 | Buccaneers | 22 | 31.8% | 36.4% | 2.36 |
| 13 | 49ers | 21 | 19% | 52.4% | 2.33 |
| 14 | Packers | 22 | 27.3% | 40.9% | 2.32 |
| 15 | Bills | 21 | 28.6% | 38.1% | 2.29 |
| 16 | Giants | 22 | 27.3% | 36.4% | 2.18 |
| 17 | Titans | 22 | 18.2% | 45.5% | 2.09 |
| 18 | Eagles | 21 | 28.6% | 28.6% | 2.00 |
| 19 | Bears | 21 | 23.8% | 33.3% | 1.95 |
| 20 | Bengals | 22 | 22.7% | 31.8% | 1.86 |
| 21 | Cardinals | 22 | 22.7% | 27.3% | 1.73 |
| 22 | Chargers | 22 | 18.2% | 31.8% | 1.68 |
| 23 | Lions | 22 | 18.2% | 27.3% | 1.55 |
| 24 | Texans | 22 | 9.1% | 36.4% | 1.45 |
| 24 | Cowboys | 22 | 9.1% | 36.4% | 1.45 |
| 26 | Browns | 21 | 14.3% | 28.6% | 1.43 |
| 27 | Seahawks | 22 | 18.2% | 22.7% | 1.41 |
| 27 | Redskins | 22 | 18.2% | 22.7% | 1.41 |
| 29 | Broncos | 22 | 9.1% | 27.3% | 1.18 |
| 30 | Dolphins | 22 | 13.6% | 18.2% | 1.09 |
| 31 | Jaguars | 22 | 9.1% | 22.7% | 1.05 |
| 32 | Jets | 21 | 0% | 14.3% | 0.43 |
And reviewing the total yardage tells a similar story: the Jets are also averaging a league-low 15 yards per opening drive this year, after averaging a league-low 10 yards/opening drive over the final 8 games of 2017.
Today, the Jets face the Texans. Shortly after kickoff, this post’s title will very likely be off by a game.