KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Every losing season has different stages. At first, there's defiance, which turns to frustration, which often becomes resignation. It's not pretty to watch.
The New York Jets hit Stage 2 on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, where their most memorable throws of the day involved helmets, not footballs.
An enraged Geno Smith threw his helmet at the bench after a fourth-down sack in the fourth quarter of the Jets' 35-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. A short time later, right tackle Armand Membou lost his cool and spiked his helmet on the field after allowing a sack to Chris Jones -- an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
This is what the Jets have become: a 2-7 team, losers of four straight, seemingly out of answers -- and coming unglued before our eyes.
The root of the frustration: They failed to score a touchdown Sunday despite 32 offensive plays in Chiefs' territory -- their most in plus territory without a TD since Week 3 in the 2022 season. Asked why they're struggling to reach the end zone, running back Breece Hall deadpanned, "I mean, that's been [the case for] the last however many years we've been here."
Hall, who arrived in 2022, isn't wrong.
If coach Aaron Glenn has any chance of saving his job -- with a 5-21 record, it looks bleak -- he needs to stave off the resignation stage. That's when it gets really ugly, when the energy is drained out of the locker room, when fissures form among players. It's when hope is gone.
Presumably, Glenn will have the final eight games to convince owner Woody Johnson that the organization is heading in the right direction under his leadership. It could be an insurmountable challenge.
"I have a lot of thinking to do," Glenn said, meaning problem solving.
Lots of problems, indeed.
The defense has collapsed, having allowed 127 points in the past four games.
The offense has gone five straight quarters without a touchdown.
The Jets have been outscored 45-10 in the past two second halves, showing no ability to adjust.
The kickoff unit, which allowed a 95-yard touchdown last week, was so desperate to shore up its coverage that it assigned tight end/fullback Andrew Beck to handle the kicking off. The apparent strategy was that they'd benefit by having 11 tacklers on the field instead of 10 and a kicker. It worked -- well, except for the penalty Beck incurred for booting one out of bounds.
Glenn will be charged with keeping the locker room from succumbing to reality: that this is just another wasted season. Unless something miraculous happens, the Jets are headed to their 11th straight losing season and their 16th consecutive year out of the playoffs.
"It gets tough -- I know it does -- but there's belief because we've shown ... we can play at a high level," Glenn said. "A lot of times, I just go back to that and just show that [to the players], believing that we can continue to do that."
Glenn said the Jets showed promise in the first half. But did they? They trailed at halftime 14-12, having settled for five field goal attempts because of promising drives that stalled. Everybody knows you can't leave points on the field when facing Patrick Mahomes. As sure as Arrowhead Stadium is red, the Jets got boat-raced in the second half.
Smith (18-for-32 passing for 165 yards), who struggled, eventually lost his poise, screaming at no one after being sacked for the fourth time.
"Just frustrated with not getting it done," Smith said. "I'm always the type of guy that's going to look inward. So [I was] really just looking at myself and figuring out how can I be better for the guys and better for the team."
Then came the Membou helmet spike.
"I don't like losing," Membou said, explaining his actions.
What triggered the outburst?
"I don't like losing."
Membou, one of the team's better players, didn't want to discuss his overall performance.
"I'm irritated we lost," he said, jaw clenched.
There was a lot of that Sunday.
