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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The scenes around the quiet visitors' locker room late Sunday morning at Hard Rock Stadium.
Jamal Adams, the emotionally fueled second-year safety, stood motionless, facing his locker with a towel around his waist, and gripping the walls and looking like he wanted to ransack the entire room in a rage.
Guard Brian Winters, wearing a faraway stare of utter despair and disgust, in the aftermath of a long time ago, and a long time ago.
Linebacker Darron Lee had a scowl on his face and was shaking his head as he swiftly left the locker room.
The Jets are 3-6 after Sunday's 13-6 loss to the Dolphins that looked a lot more like a pillow fight than an NFL football game – a game that set offensive football back generations.
Their third consecutive loss to a Dolphins team that entered the day having lost four of its past five games.
Their offense scored six points against a Dolphins defense that had an average of 33.4 points in that five-game span.
They lost to a Miami team, Brock Osweiler, throwing for all of 139 yards. Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers produce seven first downs in a single offensive possession.
It did not help that the Jets' prized rookie quarterback, Sam Darnold, delivered his worst performance as a pro, throwing four interceptions, the second of which was returned by Dolphins rookie linebacker Jerome Baker for the game's only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Yes, it's bad for the Jets right now. So bad they are anything but a lock at home next Sunday to beat a 2-7 Bills team that lost 41-9 to the Bears on Sunday in Buffalo.
The more the Jets stagger down this path of hopelessness, the more apparent it seems head coach Todd Bowles will be replaced by two years of no playoff appearances.
"I'm pissed off," Adams said once he finally dressed up and gathered his emotions. "I'm sick of losing. Enough is enough. I'm fed up with losing. I do not know what else to say. It's not Coach Bowles' fault. He takes a lot of … things, but it's not his fault. "
But yes, it is Bowles' fault – at least in part. This team has not – and is not – getting better under his watch.
A week ago in Chicago, the Jets were with their two starting receivers (Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson) and their most productive running back (Bilal Powell) for the season and had little realistic chance of beating the Bears.
On Sunday, they had a fight against the Jets in Chicago, they had Enunwa and Anderson back on the field and also had running back Elijah McGuire. And their offense was as bad in Miami as it was in Chicago.
Bowles, too, curiously waited until it was too late to replace center Spencer Long on Sunday as his shotgun snaps to Darnold were more wandered than to a baseball pitcher who had lost the plate.
There was a clear undercurrent in the game, which had been played by the offensive players, who had been stigmatized, and the offensive players who were, well, offensive.
Left tackle Kelvin Beachum made it a point to start his postgame interview this way: "Can I say something? First and foremost, I think our defense played extremely well today. To give up six points … our defense balled out. One of the best defensive performances I've ever been a part of. Kudos to our defense. We did not deliver for them. This game is on us. "
To a man, every offensive player has had a lot of cheating on his face.
"My confidence is high on this team," said Adams. "It does not matter who had the bad game. It's a 53-man roster and we did not come to play. We did not finish the ballgame, and it's the same, same, same stuff. It's frustrating. Enough is enough. "
Adams insisted the team is "still tight," adding that in-house fracturing "is not going to happen."
"We got to find an answer," said Anderson. "It's got to change. It's my third year here. I understand the emphasis on restructure [and] rebuild, but I think everybody's tired of that. I think that's an excuse. We've got to challenge ourselves and make it happen. It's professional football. "
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