He isn't Jim Mora, but Jets' interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich did offer a notable response when asked about his team's fleeting playoff chances following Sunday's 31-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Sunday's loss (their sixth in their last seven games) dropped the Jets to 3-7. New York is a full two games behind the Broncos, who currently hold the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoff standings. The Jets would have to leapfrog three teams into the seventh playoff spot over the season's final seven weeks.
"We're gonna keep fighting," Ulbrich said of his team. "In all honesty, the playoffs should be the last thing on our mind right now. We've just got to play better football."
Ulbrich is right. While he isn't ruling anything out, Ulbrich wants his team focusing on themselves and what they can do to improve on a daily basis. There's certainly a lot of things Ulbrich's team can work on between now and their upcoming games against the Indianapolis Colts, who are one of the three teams the Jets need to move ahead of in the standings.
Fresh off of last Thursday's win over the Texans, the Jets were unable to parlay that momentum into a similar performance on Sunday on either side of the ball. The Jets' defense gave up 28 first downs and allowed Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray to complete a franchise record 17 consecutive passes.
On offense, the Jets gained a meager 206 total yards. Aaron Rodgers threw for just 151 yards and was sacked three times. He also lost a fumble in what was another forgettable performance by the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
"It's been a lot of emotions this year, for sure," Rodgers said following Sunday's loss. "I thought after a big win Thursday night, nice long week, we were gonna come out with a lot of energy and win the game. We didn't come out with a great energy on either side of the ball."
Things certainly look bleak for the Jets, who came into the 2024 season with high expectations. Ulbrich, though, provided a reason for optimism for Jets fans that are in desperate need of some.
"We'll take this one game at a time and we'll see what happens," he said. "The beauty of this locker room, though, is that we have some very prideful men in there. … Just got some things we've got to fix."
Mora's legendary playoff rant in 2001 foreshadowed a disastrous 6-10 season for the Colts. Barring a miraculous turnaround, the 2024 Jets will likely experience a similar fate.