Jets will start Tim Boyle at QB for second consecutive week

NEW YORK — The New York Jets changed quarterbacks ahead of Friday’s game hoping for an offensive spark.

That didn’t happen and the Dolphins rolled past the Jets 34-13.

However, Tim Boyle will get another opportunity to lead the Jets offense in Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons.

“We’re giving Timmy another shot to roll next week,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “Obviously, there’s things that he could have done better, there are things that he had no control over and I know he battled out there.

“We were able to get to certain calls that we were hoping to do. We were able to execute a lot of the different things that we wanted to execute, it just didn’t come to full fruition.”

In his first start in two seasons and the fourth of his career, Boyle completed 27 of 38 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked seven times, a direct result of the Jets having to use their eighth different offensive line combination in 11 games.

Boyle previously started three games for the Detroit Lions in 2021 when Jared Goff was injured.

The Jets’ offense has been abysmal after Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles’ tear in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. Zach Wilson started the next nine games until he was benched for Boyle during the third quarter against Buffalo in Week 11 after continued poor play and holding onto the football too long. This season, Wilson has thrown for 1,944 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The only other QB option for the Jets is Trevor Siemian, who was recently signed to the active roster after the team signed him to the practice squad in late September. When asked about Siemian possibly starting, Saleh said, “I’m not there yet.”

The Jets (4-7) are currently on a four-game losing streak. The team’s inability to find the end zone is a significant reason for the downslide.

Gang Green has just 10 offensive touchdowns in 11 games. That has led to the Jets ranking last in total yards (262.2) and 30th in points per game (14.8). The Jets are also last in the NFL in third down conversion (24.1%) and red zone touchdown percentage (28%).

The Jets hoped hiring offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett would improve the offense, but their yards and points per game are worse than a season ago when the team finished 7-10. However, Hackett will continue to be the offensive play caller.

“When you look at it all — and again, it’s a little bit of everything,” Saleh said after Friday’s loss. “Whether the calls could be better, whether the execution can be better, whether our one-on-one battles could be better — it’s taking advantage of the situations we have when we get them.

“Do I think play caller will fix that? I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you on that one.”

Hackett’s relationship with Rodgers is likely the primary reason he will remain the offensive play caller moving forward. With a headset, Rodgers watched the Jets lose to the Dolphins from the sideline. After his Achilles tear, Rodgers initially rehabbed in California. But now, Rodgers will join the team full-time in New Jersey for the season’s final six games.

“He is in the building,” Saleh said.

There has been chatter about Rodgers returning to the field before the end of the season. However, with the Jets playoff chances on life support along with the offensive line issues, that may not happen.

The Jets could open Rodgers’ practice window sometime in December, assuming doctors clear him.

“With regard to practice, I don’t have anything for you guys on that,” Saleh said. “Like I said, when we get a doctor’s note that says he is cleared, he will be cleared for practice.”

Dolphins slam turf at MetLife

The Dolphins may have won a key divisional game against a bitter rival on Black Friday, but they lost one of the better defensive players in the process.

Linebacker Jaelan Phillips tore his Achilles and will miss the rest of the 2023 season. He registered 43 tackles and 6.5 sacks for the Dolphins this season.

“It was emotional,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think that’s one of the special things about this particular team, is there’s a lot of shared journeys. Everybody sees what he puts in on a daily basis and everybody knows how bad he wants to take steps in his game and be absolutely great in this league, which he has and we’ve been very proud of him the whole season.”

Following Phillips’ injury, the conversation turned to the controversial turf at MetLife Stadium. So far this season, Phillips, Rodgers and Jets defensive tackle Al Woods have torn their Achilles on the same field.

MetLife did change their turf field last offseason, going from slit film to an updated version of FieldTurf. The change was supposed to be a safer alternative, but that has not been the case.

Many around the league, including Eagles cornerback Darius Slay and Ravens coach John Harbaugh, have previously criticized the MetLife Stadium turf.

“Since being in the league, I’ve heard that field is trash,” Dolphins safety Jevon Holland said. “I don’t know the statistics or anything like that, but I do know turf increases the chance of getting hurt.”

Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert was also vocal about MetLife’s playing surface after seeing his teammate suffer a season-ending injury.

“No player wants to go down with a significant injury,” Mostert said. “You saw what happened to Rodgers, very first game within the first series. It just sucks. We got to do something about this turf and this playing surface because, obviously, it’s still a major problem. It just has to change.”