- The
New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on Monday. - The move comes after the Jets lost on a Hail Mary to the
Las Vegas Raiders , where Williams did not send any players to help deep coverage. - The Jets' decision was unprecedented and baffled the
NFL world. - The Jets are 0-12 and lead in the race for the No. 1 pick in the draft.
It did not take long for the New York Jets to hold someone accountable for their last-second loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
The Jets on Monday fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
The move comes after the Jets (via Williams' call) sent an all-out blitz at Derek Carr in the game's final seconds. There were just 13 seconds left in the game, with the Raiders trailing by 28-24, on the Jets' 46, with no timeouts. The Raiders had to get to the end zone.
Williams' call left no safeties in coverage, meaning the Jets' cornerbacks had to play man coverage. Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III got behind Jets' cornerback Lamar Jackson and secured Derek Carr's pass for the game-winning touchdown.
The Jets' shot at their first win of the season vanished like that.
Williams' call was highly unusual and confusing. While teams do send pressure at quarterbacks in Hail Mary situations, so they don't have all day to throw, they also usually drop numerous defenders back into coverage to break up any deep balls.
According to the NFL's NextGen Stats, the Jets were the only team to send eight pass rushers on a play in the last 30 seconds of a game.
The graphic breakdown of the play shows how little the Jets had protected themselves from the deep ball.
—Seth Walder (@SethWalder) December 6, 2020
On ESPN's "Get Up," former Jets coach Rex Ryan blasted the team for the play.
"Dumbest call I've ever seen," Ryan said, adding: "That's the dumbest call ever. There's no way of putting it."
The Atheltic's Connor Hughes wrote of the coverage, "That's not aggression. It's stupidity."
ESPN's Rich Cimini called it "uniquely reckless."
The Ringer's Rodger Sherman wrote, "On a play when the Jets could lose only via a deep completion, they did not play a deep safety to aid in pass coverage."
Even Jets players seemed dumbfounded.
"I think we could have been in a better call in that situation," safety Marcus Maye said, adding: "We have to execute, but you have to help us out at the same time."
"It's hard to fathom losing a game like that," quarterback Sam Darnold said. "We should have won."
The Jets fell to 0-12 on the season, with four games remaining against teams that are .500 or better.
And though Williams' call may have cost them the game and his job, it did keep the Jets' hopes of drafting Trevor Lawrence alive and well.
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