The New York Jets had a chance to move to within a half game of first place in the AFC East on Monday night. After starting the season 1-3, Robert Saleh’s team had won three straight, and were looking to extend that streak against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in front of a national audience.

New York Jets Have 8 Offensive Touchdowns So Far

Fewest offensive TDs in the NFL:

1) #Jets – 8

2) #Giants – 9

3) #Steelers 11

The Jets are playing in primetime again next week, against the #Raiders on Sunday Night Football.https://t.co/Pq2Zty18T2 pic.twitter.com/i0ZwUMwK61

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 7, 2023

Things never got off the ground for Zach Wilson and the rest of the Jets players. The score at halftime was 17-3 in favor of the Chargers, and the Jets matched their first-half total during the rest of the game, finishing with 6 points and losing by 21. They failed to score an offensive touchdown (or a touchdown at all, for that matter), leaving their grand total on the year at 8, the lowest of any team in the NFL so far this season.

There hasn’t been a game yet this year in which the Jets have scored two offensive touchdowns. They have ten total on the season through their first eight games, and two of them are of the defensive variety. There have been just three touchdowns on rushing play, and Zach Wilson has five scoring throws so far on the year.

It is a testament to their defensive dominance. When the team lost Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, much of the optimism was sucked away from the season, but there was a belief that New York’s defense was talented enough to be able to keep them in games as long as Wilson was able to play mediocre at worst. This has held true to some degree, as they are currently ranked 8th in total points allowed even after the Chargers game, but the offense hasn’t even come close to holding up its end of the bargain.

Uphill Climb For The Playoffs Now

Has there been a worse 2nd overall pick in NFL History that’s as bad as Zach Wilson

The Jets are going through it ‼️

pic.twitter.com/sDBVWKwZOs

— BallTalkSource (@BallTalkSource) November 7, 2023

The loss for the Jets on Monday night pushes their record down to 4-4 and back into third place in the AFC East. It drops their likelihood of making the playoffs down to 31%, and they’ll have to win some tough games coming up in order to put themselves in position for contention. After playing the Raiders this coming Sunday, the Jets will take on the Bills and Dolphins in back-to-back weeks, which are games that could ultimately decide New York’s fate within the division.

The Jets are 1.5 point favorites for their game against the Raiders next Sunday night.