Dowel Loggains seemed to have cracked the code. In thirty minutes of football, he managed to coach Sam Darnold and the Jets to a 10-6 lead. Ten points, and their first halftime lead since December twenty-seventh of last year! If you ignore the Jets’ second-half numbers, and I recommend you do, they looked like a competent team at the very least.
How did this happen? Believe it or not, this success was a result of Loggains running the same offense that the media and Jets fans everywhere have been begging Adam Gase to run – proving how simple the team’s woes were.
You could see right off the bat that Loggains implemented more creativity into his play-calling than his buddy Gase. Moving players in pre-snap motion, calling more run-pass option plays, and getting the younger guys involved in the game where they thrive. For example, La’Mical Perine, who ran the ball a total of zero times just two weeks ago against the Cardinals, ran for thirty-nine yards on eleven carries against the Bills, including a pitch to the outside that resulted in his first career touchdown. Obviously, more touches will help him develop. The gaping hole full of green grass was opened by rookie receiver Denzel Mims who drove Bills All-Pro corner Tre’Davious White into the endzone. Mims’ blocking ability was one of the more attractive features of his game coming out of Baylor.
I bet Joe Douglas wishes he had a camera on him this past Sunday because you would’ve seen him smirking at the production of his rookie class being used to their strengths.
That is, until halftime.
Just like his work friend Adam Gase, Dowell Loggains was unable to make the halftime adjustments necessary to keep the Jets in the game. Despite a four-point lead after thirty minutes of football, the Jets fell apart as always. For the seventh week in a row, the Jets were unable to adjust and watched Bills kicker Tyler Bass single-handedly kick four more field goals and take the game over. All while a Dowell Loggains-led offense proceeded to be shut out throughout the entire second half.
What went wrong? Well, the short answer is coaching, but you all know this. Let’s go a little more in-depth…
During the first half, the Jets appeared to be playing their best football of the season. 186 yards of total offense and a touchdown, which is a bad day for the Kansas City Chiefs, was the most exciting half of Jets football that I have personally watched all season.
What was working? Dowell Loggains’ use of pre-snap motion, outside runs, and having the advantage of running an offense that the Bills had no film to study on. It caught them by surprise. At halftime, Sean McDermott and his staff attempted to adjust and adapt to a Jets offense that had been moving the ball on them.
They succeeded. They held the Jets to just four total yards in the second half.
Yes… four.
While the Bills continued to kick field goal after field goal, Dowell Loggains did his best Adam Gase impression and watched his offense fall apart and failed to keep the team in the game. He made no adjustments. Now, Loggains isn’t a guy who has been grooming under a guy like Andy Reid, but rather an offensive guru who has led his offense to bottom-of-the-barrel standings in just about every category. So this isn’t necessarily a jaw-dropping conversation.
Adam Gase announced in a zoom meeting on Wednesday that his buddy Dowell Loggains will keep the offensive playsheet and call plays for Sam Darnold and the Jets again this Sunday in Kansas City. With the move, expect the same creativity as we saw from the first half of last week’s game and a lack of adjustments in the second half.