Frank Gore becomes NFL’s third 16,000-yard rusher

Frank Gore eclipsed the 16,000 career rushing-yard mark and moved into third on the NFL’s all-time rushing list against the Browns.

Another game, another milestone for Frank Gore.

After passing Lorenzo Neal for the most games played by a running back in NFL history (240) last weekend, Gore moved into third on the NFL’s all-time rushing list by eclipsing the 16,000-yard mark in the fourth quarter of the Jets’ Week 16 matchup with the Browns.

Gore now joins Walter Payton (16,726) and Emmitt Smith (18,355) in the 16,000-plus yard club. Entering Sunday’s game, Gore had 605 rushing yards on 173 carries, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry — a career-low for the 37-year-old. However, he played a key part in New York’s first win of 2020, rushing for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter against the Rams in Week 15.

The eventual Hall of Famer will need at least one more full season of action to catch Payton for the No. 2 spot on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. It’s unlikely that season comes with the Jets, but either way, New York now holds a place in Gore’s quest for football immortality.

Jets make Marcus Maye their Curtis Martin Team MVP

Jets safety Marcus Maye won the Curtis Martin Team MVP award for the first time in his career.

Jets players have spoken: Marcus Maye is their team’s most valuable player.

Maye was rewarded with the Curtis Martin Team MVP award Thursday following a vote by his teammates. Maye’s name will be added to a wall at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center that displays the names of past team MVPs.

Maye is the fourth safety to win the award. Dainard Paulson, Brian Washington and Jamal Adams are the other three Jets safeties who’ve taken home the team MVP award.

Maye, in his first season without Adams by his side in the secondary, has taken over as the leader of the Jets defense. Now in his fourth season, he’s the team’s longest-tenured, active player. Maye has been more vocal this season and shown a willingness to take on multiple roles on defense.

After spending most of his Jets career as the free safety, Maye took over as the strong safety for a stretch of games this season. He was playing the part that Adams had occupied for the last three seasons, playing up on the line of scrimmage. Additionally, Maye volunteered to return punts during training camp as well, but that never came to fruition during the regular season.

Statistically, Maye has put together the best season of his career. He’s registered 71 total tackles, two sacks, 11 pass breakups, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The biggest play Maye made this season came in Sunday’s 23-20 win over the Rams. Maye broke up a pass to Gerald Everett on fourth down late in the game that allowed the Jets to get the ball back and run out the clock to pick up their first victory of the year.

The Jets also announced the winners of five other team awards on Thursday. Frank Gore won the Dennis Byrd/ Most Inspirational Player award, while Ryan Griffin got the Ed Block Courage/Most Courageous Player award. Mathias Farley won the Marty Lyons/Community Service award and Folorunso Fatukasi won the Kyle Clifton/”Good Guy” award. Finally, rookie Denzel Mims earned the Bill Hampton/”Rookie Who Acts Like a Pro award.

Sean McVay embarrassed by Rams’ loss to Jets: ‘Sick to your stomach’

Sean McVay summed the Rams’ Week 15 loss to the Jets up as embarrassing

The Rams did not look like a potential Super Bowl contender against the Jets. In fact, they looked more like the team that was in the midst of a 13-game losing streak and fighting for the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

New York jumped out to a 13-0 lead over Los Angeles on Sunday and went up 20-3 midway through the third quarter as the Rams struggled to get going in all three facets of the game. Bryce Hall picked off Jared Goff in the second quarter and returned it deep into Los Angeles territory to set up a Jets score. Brant Boyer’s special teams unit blocked a punt in that same quarter to set New York up for more points, as the Rams could not slow down an offense that scored only three points against the Seahawks in Week 14.

Los Angeles mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. Marcus Maye batted a fourth-down shot downfield by Goff and Sam Darnold connected with Frank Gore on third-and-five just before the two-minute warning to give New York its first win of 2020 — and thus giving the Rams with the unwanted distinction of being the first team to lose to the lowly Jets.

“This loss will demoralize us only as much as we allow it to,” Sean McVay said, per Rams Wire. “It’s gonna be embarrassing. Sick to your stomach about it. But we do have two games left and we’ve got to find a way to rebound and respond this week as we get ready for the Seahawks. This was very humbling and it’s going to be humbling, but we’re going to move forward.”

Embarrassing is one way to sum up losing to an 0-13 team — especially for the Rams, a team competing for an NFC West crown and working out the kinks before the postseason. Los Angeles boasted the No. 1 defense in football entering Week 15, yet allowed a Jets offense that has not been able to do anything right this season to score 23 points. New York meanwhile, features one of the worst defenses in football, yet the Rams could not find the end zone until the second half.

The Rams now have two weeks to get back on track before the playoffs, but make no mistake about it. They will be living down the shame of granting the Jets their first win of 2020 long after this season ends.

Sam Darnold’s efficiency among 4 takeaways from Jets’ Week 15 win over Rams

The Jets used a similar strategy to pull off their first win of the season.

Here’s a sentence no one wrote in 2020 before today: The Jets won.

It came against one of the better teams in the league, but the victory took the Jets out of the lead for the No. 1 overall pick, and with that, the option to draft Trevor Lawrence. That in and of itself might be the worst thing to come out of this game unless you’re a true believer in Sam Darnold.

The Jets proved one thing, though: the team has what it takes to win in the NFL. That’s something not many expected after the Jets started the season 0-13 with a plethora of ugly losses.

What’s strange is the Jets didn’t do much differently in this win than their other 13 games. They leaned on Frank Gore heavily, Darnold relied on short passes and the defense played well enough to hold back a solid offense. The biggest difference, though, was how the Jets didn’t fall apart.

Here are the top four takeaways from Week 15.

Jets vs. Rams game recap: Everything we know about New York’s 1st win

Recap and stats from the New York Jets’ Week 15 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.

Week after week, the Jets lost.

After 14 weeks of nothing but defeat, a win on the road felt impossible against the Rams. With Los Angeles favored by 17 points, simply playing competitive football would have been a sign of progress for the Jets.

The Jets were more than just competitive in Week 15, though. At long last, they were victorious.

In the upset of the NFL season, New York beat the Rams, 23-20. The shocker improved the Jets’ record to 1-13 — and seriously jeopardized their chances of landing Trevor Lawrence in the draft.

Frank Gore sets record for career games by a running back

Frank Gore has now played the most career games (240) by a running back in league history, surpassing former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal.

After taking the field in Week 15, Frank Gore has now played in 240 career games, the most by a running back in NFL history.

New York’s veteran running back passed Lorenzo Neal (239), who was more known for his work as a fullback. From 1993-2009, Neal played for eight different teams, including a single-season stop with the Jets in 1997.

Gore joined the Jets for what could be his 16th and final season. Coming into Sunday’s game, Gore had 546 rushing yards on 150 carries, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, which ties a career-low.

The eventual Hall of Famer is just 107 yards away of reaching 16,000 rushing yards for his career. Gore has three games, including Week 15’s matchup against the Rams, to do so.

Frank Gore to set mark for most NFL games by running back

Frank Gore keeps on going despite being in his 16th season and heading into his 240th game

The New York Jets haven’t won a game in 2020. That shouldn’t stop anyone from considering their veteran running back Frank Gore a winner.

When Gore takes the field on Sunday with Gang Green against the Los Angeles Rams, it will be his 240th career NFL game. That will be the most in NFL history for a running back.

Gore will break the tie he currently is in with Lorenzo Neal, who played fullback for seven teams from 1993-2008.

Gore, 37, is in his 16th season. He has rushed for 15,893 yards and 80 touchdowns.

The former Miami Hurricanes star needs 107 yards in the Jets’ remaining three games to reach 16,000. He currently is third in NFL history, behind Emmitt Smith and the late Walter Payton.

 

New York by the Numbers: 4 standout stats from the Jets’ Week 14 loss to Seahawks

Jets Wire takes a look at some standout stats from the Jets’ 40-3 Week 14 loss vs. the Seattle Seahawks

After flirting with their first win of the season last week, the Jets showed why they’re the NFL’s only remaining winless team in Week 14.

New York sleepwalked into Seattle and paid the price in an embarrassing 40-3 loss. The Jets had some offensive momentum in the first half, but it didn’t materialize as Sergio Castillio missed three field goals.

From there, the Jets played a second half that’s been representative of their season thus far, getting outscored 17-0 after going into the break down 23-3. New York even got to see a familiar face in Geno Smith, who saw some time with the game out of hand and decided.

Let’s take a look at some numbers that stood out in the latest loss.

Sergio Castillo, Frank Gore among Jets’ Studs & Duds in Week 14 loss to Seahawks

Jets Wire takes a look at the Jets studs and duds from the team’s 40-3 loss against the Seahawks on Sunday.

After the Jets came so close to securing their first win of the season last week, they were delivered a dose of reality in an embarrassing 40-3 defeat at the hands of the Seahawks this weekend.

The Jets struck first, but never struck again. The anemic offense was never jumpstarted and the team’s porous defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed. All in all, it was an atypical, uninspiring performance for Adam Gase’s team, which inched increasingly closer to 0-16 with a 37-point defeat.

Let’s take a look at New York’s best and (mostly) worst from the team’s latest loss.

Instant Analysis: Seahawks roll over lifeless Jets as Jamal Adams makes history

Jets Wire breaks down New York’s xx-xx Week 14 loss to the Seahawks.

The Jets were not sleepless in Seattle when they played the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon. They were lifeless.

An opening drive Sergio Castillo field goal was as good as it got for New York in Week 14, as Seattle caught fire from that point on and rolled to a 40-3 win. Led by Jamal Adams, the Seahawks locked in on defense, limiting Sam Darnold to only 132 yards through the air. Offensively, Russell Wilson took advantage of a Jets secondary not in the same league as him, throwing for 206 yards and four touchdowns.

The Jets are now three games away from football infamy — and three games away from landing a potentially generational quarterback prospect in Trevor Lawrence.

Game Balls

S Marcus Maye: Maye did his best wide receiver impression in the first quarter, making a one-handed, tip-drill catch to pick off a Wilson pass intended for DK Metcalf. The play prevented a touchdown and kept Seattle from notching its second score in as many drives — not that it mattered in the end.

Quick Thoughts

-Another week of Darnold failing to take advantage of a bad secondary. If he can’t get the job done against a unit as bad as Seattle’s, he can’t be trusted to lead the Jets into the future. It’s as simple as that.

-Multiple Jets defenders seemed to be out of position and, frankly, lost, on the Seahawks’ first scoring drive and throughout the afternoon. Not necessarily Frank Bush’s fault, but new defensive coordinator, same results.

-The statement above does not apply to Maye, though. He should be priorities one, two and three when Joe Douglas is sorting through which in-house free agents to re-sign this offseason. The Florida product is the heart and soul of the Jets’ defense at this point.

-Frank Gore starting the Jets’ first and second series of the game over Ty Johnson, who rushed for over 100 yards and a score against the Raiders, is flat out comical. Adam Gase is so set in his ways that he couldn’t see how Johnson’s playmaking ability could jumpstart his offense until Gore put the ball on the turf. Maybe New York’s next head coach will be able to figure things like that out.

-The Jets still don’t have a kicker. Another thing for Douglas to figure out this offseason.

-It’s no wonder Seattle’s receivers ran wild against the Jets. Asking Javelin Guidry, Bryce Hall and Lamar Jackson, three rookie cornerbacks (two of which went undrafted) to contain the likes of Tyler Lockett and Metcalf for four quarters is unreasonable.

-Seven consecutive games in which the Jets have scored points on their first possession. An interesting, but hard to believe, tidbit considering how much New York’s offense has struggled throughout 2020.

-0-13. Three more games until the tank for Lawrence is complete.