Heavy on Jets
We have reached the end of the road for New York Jets placekicker Greg Zuerlein.
In the Week 8 matchup against the New England Patriots, Zuerlein missed a 44-yard field goal and an extra point attempt. The Jets lost 25-22 to the Patriots.
The Jet Press said on social media, “he’s completely cooked” and “safe to say he’s a goner.”
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic admitted, “It’s time to move on.”
ESPN radio host Jake Asman added, “Greg Zuerlein should not be on this team anymore. Disgrace he even kicked to start this game today. He’s shot.”
This Wasn’t the First Time Zuerlein Has Struggled This Season
Zuerlein is 9-of-15 on the year on his field goal attempts. Those six missed field goals are the most in the NFL through the first eight weeks of the season. Additionally that 60% conversion rate “is the worst FGM% for a kicker with 15+ attempts in the past 10 seasons,” per The 33rd Team.
After the game, Aaron Rodgers admitted if they accomplished other things earlier in the game they wouldn’t have had to rely on Zuerlein. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said he does not regret sticking with Zuerlein through his struggles during the season.
Those are all nice things to say so you don’t blame one guy, but if you look closely at the Jets season, Zuerlein’s struggles have doomed the team.
The Jets are 2-6 and if the season ended today would hold the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, per Tankathon.
However, you don’t have to squint very hard to see what this season would have looked like for the Jets with a competent kicker.
Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post said “if Greg Zuerlein does his job” the Jets would have beaten the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and the Patriots in Week 8.
That would have put the Jets at 5-3 in the thick of the AFC East divisional race and of course in the playoff conversation. The green and white didn’t win any of those games and instead, sit at 2-6 in last place in the division.
According to ESPN’s Seth Walder, Zuerlein has made “-4.3 field goals over expectation” which is the worst in the NFL per Next Gen Stats.
A Change Is Necessary, but Probably Too Little Too Late
The Jets have no choice. They need to make a change because Zuerlein is the worst kicker in football.
However, at 2-6, swapping a placekicker will probably have the same impact as switching around the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is still going down.
When you look at Zuerlein’s mistakes, you see he missed a field goal and an extra point, versus the Patriots. If you take a deeper dive you see that he affected the Jets even more negatively than that.
“Greg Zuerlein lost the Jets ELEVEN POINTS today.
Missed field goal: -3
Missed extra point: -1
Punted from the 40 twice because they couldn’t trust him: -6
Forced to go for 2 because of missed XP and didn’t get it: -1
A functional kicker and the Jets score 33 points,” a social media user explained.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts Cumulus Media's morning show, "The Manchild Show with Boy Green." Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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