http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/sports/football/new-york-jets-arizona-cardinals.html 2016-10-18 06:48:26 Another Rout Leaves Jets’ Hopes in Peril and Fitzpatrick’s Job in Jeopardy Expected to be a contender this season, the Jets have lost five of their first six games and were left scrambling for a reason to believe things will get better. === GLENDALE, Ariz. — The They will treat the improbable as conceivable because that, with 10 games remaining in this dreadful season, is what will help make the daily grind more bearable. They will lean on faith and fortitude because that, in the absence of any tangible reasons to believe, can nourish them until they are officially eliminated from playoff contention. The next two and a half months will test a team that was expected to win this season but has instead lost five of its first six games, including the last four. In the latest embarrassment, a 28-3 loss to the Beyond the score, the miserable statistics, the offensive malaise and the defensive resignation, the Jets must now contend with that franchise specialty, a quarterback controversy. Because after Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Jets only to a field goal in nine series, and after the backup Geno Smith expressed his dissatisfaction by stalking the sideline and flinging his cap in disgust, Coach Todd Bowles apparently reached his threshold for suffering. With 8 minutes 20 seconds left, in came Smith, who played one series, completed four of six passes and, in sum, did nothing to prove that he should or should not play Sunday against Baltimore at MetLife Stadium — other than wear a jersey that did not say “Fitzpatrick” on the back. He did throw an interception, but that only enhanced his qualifications. His performance ended up being a moot point: Bowles said after the game that Fitzpatrick would remain as the starter. Just two weeks ago, Brandon Marshall proclaimed that he would be “going down in a boat” with Fitzpatrick, so confident was he in the incumbent. That support extends throughout the locker room, but if Bowles decrees it so, Smith will be entrusted with rescuing a season careening toward irrelevance. Just six games in, the Jets reside alone in last place in the A.F.C. East, four games behind New England (5-1) and three behind Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills (4-2). “The reality is that we’re not a good team right now,” Marshall said. “That’s the reality. You got to deal with reality.” Of the 92 teams that had started 1-5 since 1990, only one reached the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That team, last season’s Kansas City Chiefs, capitalized on a forgiving schedule, an efficient quarterback and the league’s best turnover margin over the final 10 games. That blueprint could apply to the Jets, too, if only they had — if only they had what? Perhaps a time machine to reconsider an off-season quarterback plan that fixated on Fitzpatrick, whose regression to the mean after a revelatory 2015 has torpedoed their season. If the Jets had been more confident in Smith, they would have abandoned their pursuit of Fitzpatrick instead of re-signing him on the eve of training camp. Behind Fitzpatrick, who completed 16 of 31 passes for 174 yards in Monday’s game, the Jets trailed by 14-3 at halftime, discombobulated again by their own offensive failures: a running game that managed 22 yards, a unit that accrued more accepted penalties (eight) than first downs (five), a quarterback unable to generate any sustained drives. That trend has been sinking the Jets for about a month now, with minimal evidence of improvement. Under Fitzpatrick’s stewardship during this losing streak, the Jets have scored touchdowns on three of 41 possessions, a stretch of ineptitude that has jeopardized his job security. And in the second halves of games, the Jets have been outscored by 51-7, in large part because of Fitzpatrick, who has thrown all of one touchdown pass and 10 interceptions, including yet another red-zone interception on Monday. “I just think the biggest thing as a quarterback is those guys in the huddle, when they look at you, have to be confident,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think I have that. You can go ahead in the locker room and ask them all if you want.” Fitzpatrick was not responsible for all of the Jets’ problems. The Cardinals had not scored in the first quarter all season. Antidote, thy name is Jets. On the first play of Arizona’s second series, David Johnson cut left, juked his way past Erin Henderson, slipped through a tangle of defenders and bolted down the sideline for a 58-yard score that was his first of three on the night, and the fifth touchdown of at least 50 yards the Jets had allowed this season. By contrast, the Jets have not gained that many yards even once. Their first-quarter possessions Monday deteriorated into a blur of incompetence — 27 yards, one first down and five accepted penalties, including false starts on consecutive plays. When the Jets did manage to snap the ball to Fitzpatrick without incident, good things happened. Check that: One good thing happened — a 36-yard completion to Marshall that positioned the Jets for a 39-yard field goal from Nick Folk that trimmed Arizona’s lead to 7-3. Marshall has tried to remain optimistic during the losing streak, pumping up teammates and passing out motivational T-shirts he had printed. “Due Season,” they read. “Meaning, it’s time,” Marshall said. By that, Marshall meant time for the Jets to benefit from their diligence and preparation, from all those allegedly good practices that puff them with hope during the week but look more like mirages come game days. Not time to succumb to mental blunders and missed tackles, poor throws and foolish penalties. The Jets profess every week that they are better than the product they set forth on the field, and every week — or at least the last four — they prove that they are not. His team flailing, Bowles returned to Arizona no less certain in his abilities than when he left his post as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator — and confidant to his mentor, Coach Bruce Arians — in January 2015 to take over the Jets. It was Arians who, when he coached Bowles at Temple more than 30 years ago, inculcated a message that resonates still. “No matter what happens, you have to keep swinging,” Bowles said. “And the more injured you get, the more you keep swinging.” By now, Bowles is familiar with a good pummeling. He and the Jets were thumped for a fourth consecutive game, and now the season is on the brink.