Jets making plenty of mistakes during 0-4 start, but say some calls by officials aren’t helping

Sauce Gardner said after the New York Jets’ latest loss what a lot of their fans were also ranting about.

Sure, there’s plenty to clean up as the team dropped to 0-4 and is still looking for its first victory under Aaron Glenn. But as far as Gardner’s concerned, it seems the officials have also become a tough opponent to overcome.

The Jets took 13 accepted penalties — with three others declined — in their 27-21 loss at Miami on Monday night, and there were a few other plays that perhaps could’ve been called on the Dolphins but weren’t.

“I just feel like us not winning, it’s what goes on if we don’t win,” Gardner said after the game. “I feel like we don’t get the calls that we should get and we get the calls that we probably shouldn’t get called for.”

Gardner, the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, was penalized for pass interference on Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter on an incompletion that aided a drive that eventually put the Dolphins up 24-10.

Garrett Wilson was called for offensive pass interference to negate what would’ve been a spectacular touchdown catch, a debatable penalty. But no flags came out when Justin Fields took a late hit out of bounds, Mason Taylor was hit in the head area seconds after he was already down or when Joe Tippmann had his helmet knocked off while blocking on a play.

“I watch football all the time and I just feel like, I don’t know if this is wrong to say, but I think I get called for more stuff just based off of us not winning,” said a frustrated Gardner, who leads the Jets with four penalties called on him. “I watch these winning programs and there’s some egregious things and it don’t get called. They’re letting the players play.”

Sloppiness, though, has been a recurring theme for the Jets. Glenn said Tuesday he won’t question that “Sauce said his piece” and added the Jets would send some plays to the league for clarification, as they do most weeks.

“Man, you have to earn the right to get a lot of these calls, for the most part,” Glenn said. “We have to continue playing. There were a number of calls in that game I felt that didn’t go our way, that I thought we should’ve gotten and I can easily go through those, but I’m not.

“But I do know this: We had a good amount of penalties on our end that we have to clean up. And again, we’re talking about a team that for two years led the league in penalties. We’re trying to clean those things up as we go, but I don’t want to put it all on that.”

The Jets have 32 accepted penalties this season, including 20 in the past two games. They’re also missing tackles at an alarming rate. And they make game-changing mistakes — such as Braelon Allen’s fumble near the goal line that flipped the momentum and Isaiah Williams fumbling the kickoff to open the second half and calling a fair catch of a punt at the 3 early in the fourth quarter.

“There’s a number of reasons why we didn’t win that game,” Glenn said. “And to me, I want to focus on the how more than the why, and there are some things that we know we have to do to clean those things up. And one, and most important, is the turnovers.

“We cannot turn over the ball and expect to win those games.”

What’s working

The running game. Fields returned from a one-game absence because of a concussion and was solid while leading the Jets’ run-first offense. Fields had 81 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown scamper, and Breece Hall also had 81 as New York finished with 197 yards rushing.

Fields also had his best game so far throwing the ball, going 20 of 27 for 226 yards, but also lost a fumble on a sack.

What needs help

A lot could qualify. But the Jets’ lack of a consistent pass rush against the Dolphins was troublesome. They had no sacks or quarterback hits on Tua Tagovailoa, who regularly wriggled away and dumped off passes or took off on bootlegs that New York had trouble defending.

Stock up

K Nick Folk. The 40-year-old Folk showed he still has plenty of power in his right leg, booting a career-best 58-yard field goal against the Dolphins and later adding a 50-yarder. He’s 7 for 7 on field goals and has made all seven of his extra points.

Stock down

KR Isaiah Williams. The Jets signed the return specialist off Cincinnati’s practice squad after Xavier Gipson was cut, but his two mistakes in the loss at Miami had many fans calling for Williams to be cut.

“He made two critical mistakes and I understand that,” Glenn said. “But they’re also mistakes he has to learn from, you know? So, I’m not going to sit here and say he going to lose his job over that. Listen, he has to get better, I do know that. And those things can’t happen again.”

Injuries

Glenn had no update on Allen (knee), but remained hopeful it’s not serious. … CB Michael Carter II is in the concussion protocol. Glenn said it might be tough for him to be cleared since it’s a short week. … The Jets are hoping edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) could be back this week.

Key number

0 — The Jets have no takeaways, the only team to not have one. According to ESPN Research, they are the fifth team in the past 90 years to be 0-4 without a takeaway.

What’s next

The Jets will try to avoid the fourth 0-5 start in franchise history when they return home to play the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday.

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