Seconds away from their first win, the New York Jets took an unnecessary gamble on defense — an all-out blitz that resulted in a touchdown and a 31-28 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Afterward, Jets safety Marcus Maye — a team captain — unleashed a verbal blitz on defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who made the ill-fated call on Henry Ruggs‘ 46-yard scoring catch with 5 seconds left.
“I just felt like we could’ve been in a better call in that situation,” Maye said.
Maye doubled down on that opinion. Actually, he went way beyond that. During his four-minute, 30-second interview with reporters, he made eight references to how the defense should’ve been given a “better call” on third-and-10 with 13 seconds left when the play started.
Instead of protecting the end zone and the sidelines with a soft zone, Williams — known for his aggressiveness — called a Cover 0 blitz. That meant no deep help from a safety. He sent eight rushers at quarterback Derek Carr, leaving only three defenders in man-to-man coverage.
The play call was unprecedented in recent NFL history. According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, out of the 252 pass plays attempted under similar circumstances in the past 15 seasons, the Jets were the only defense to send more than six rushers.
Two of the three defensive backs left in coverage were rookies — cornerbacks Bryce Hall and Lamar Jackson — which made the call even more curious.