The outcome of the game already was decided.
All that remained before Vikings 37, Jets 17 became official was for the final 1:21 on the clock to expire.
Robby Anderson sat on his butt in the end zone with the football in his hands after an incomplete pass on which he felt he was interfered with and, frustrated by the non-call, he childishly whipped the ball toward a nearby official.
“It was just frustration,” the Jets receiver said. “I hate losing. Who likes to lose? It wasn’t anything intended to [the referee]. It wasn’t anything malicious. It was just a reaction.’’
The 15-yard penalty Anderson got for unsportsmanlike conduct had zero to do with the final outcome, but it was symbolic of the Jets’ frustration on this day at MetLife Stadium when they thought they were better than this — better than the Vikings, whom they trailed by only a half-game in the NFL standings entering the game.
The thing is, though, the Jets weren’t — and aren’t — better than the Vikings, who were a step up in class for the them after wins over their previous two opponents, a beleaguered Broncos team on the road on the back end of a short week and a Colts team riddled with injuries.
The Vikings (4-2-1) are a better, deeper team with a stronger defense than both the Broncos and Colts. The Vikings were a Super Bowl contender a season ago and likely remain so.
And that showed Sunday across the better part of 60 minutes.
It was all a sobering smack of reality to the faces of the Jets players but also one that they hope becomes a teaching-point reminder of where they were a year ago and where it went from there.
Second-year safety Jamal Adams, who embraces his leadership role, stood before his teammates in the locker room after the game and reminded them of where the team was a year ago and what happened from there, vowing the outcome was going to be different this time.
“Jamal said after the game we were in this same position last year and guys had their heads down,” veteran defensive lineman Steve McLendon said. “But the guys in this locker room now have their heads up. This is a different team.”
Indeed, the Jets were 3-3 a year ago, and coming off a 31-28 loss at Miami to fall to 3-4, they lost four of their next five and eight of their final 10 to finish 5-11.
“Coming out of that Miami loss … well, you know how things went,’’ McLendon said.
“I know in the past couple years I’ve been here, the wheels have fallen off and all hell would break loose,” linebacker Darron Lee said. “But we’re fine. No one’s panicking here. We weren’t as close-knit a group as we are now.”
Left tackle Kelvin Beachum said he believes it’ll be different this time, but he was quick to point out that it must be proven.
“We have guys in this locker room that learned from last year. We’ve just got to put it on tape, show it,” Beachum said.
“We can be special,” Adams said. “As long as we continue to do the little things, work at the little details. We’ve got to finish the make. We had plenty of opportunities out there, but we’ve got to capitalize on those.’’
This is exactly what the Jets didn’t do Sunday. They turned the ball over four times against none by the Vikings. Their receivers dropped passes in key situations.
The Jets did a few good things on defense, holding the Vikings to only three points on three first-half drives that began in Jets territory. But in the end, the Jets played just well enough to lose.
“The game was winnable the whole time,’’ Lee said. “It’s not like they came in here and just smacked us. We beat ourselves in all three phases.’’
Jets head coach Todd Bowles lamented “costly mistakes.’’
“We made errors [Sunday] that we haven’t made in the last two weeks against a good team,’’ Bowles said. “It’ll cost you and it did. They did a good job scouting us. They did a good job taking away a lot of the things we like to do.’’
Translation: Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff outcoached Bowles and his.
So now what? Where does this Jets team go from here?
How can anyone be sure these Jets, beginning with a tough road game next Sunday against a Bears team with perhaps a better defense than the one that handcuffed their offense Sunday, won’t stagger down a similar path to the one they were on a year ago?
“I’m not going to let it happen,” Adams said defiantly. “It’s simple and plain: It’s not going to happen.”
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