Is Jets owner Woody Johnson sending a message to coach Todd Bowles? The feeling around the Meadowlands has been that Bowles will keep his job in 2017, but Johnson, who never misses a game, no-showed the Jets’ blowout loss to New England, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. Watching from wherever he was, Johnson couldn’t have been happy to see the Jets go down 41-3, giving them their latest embarrassing loss. Bowles is now 14-17 in two years as Jets coach and the game against Buffalo next week could be his last if Johnson is truly fed up.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- It’s hard to defend Bills coach Rex Ryan in the wake of Saturday’s overtime loss to Miami, Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle writes. Late in the game, Ryan punted on fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 41, exhibiting little faith in his offense to convert and perhaps putting too much trust in a defense that has not held up this year. With the loss, the Bills’ playoff hopes were extinguished and, perhaps, Ryan’s fate was sealed. On Friday, GM Doug Whaley declined to give Ryan a vote of confidence. Over the weekend, it was reported that the Bills could have extra motivation to dump Ryan because of their desire to keep offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn in the organization. Lynn is expected to be interviewed for coaching jobs this offseason.
- When asked about the acquisition of wide receiver Michael Floyd, Patriots president Jonathan Kraft seemed to put the onus on coach Bill Belichick, as Phil Perry of CSNNE.com writes. “Bill decided, looking at all of the variables, that it made sense for our football team at this time of the year,” Kraft said. “That’s why Michael Floyd is here.” In Saturday’s rout of the Jets, Floyd wasn’t on the field a whole lot but he was cheered loudly by Patriots fans who were eager to see him. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he has the rest of the way.
- Could Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill return for the postseason?