Aaron Rodgers season somehow goes from bad to worse as new Jets fact emerges

The New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers have only themselves to blame for their struggles on special teams .

On Sunday, kicker Greg Zuerlein’s woes continued during the Jets 25-22 loss to the lowly New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. He missed two kicks in the contest - an extra point and a field goal - in what’s become a worrying trend this season.

Upon taking the field following a touchdown pass from Rodgers, Zuerlein shanked the extra point attempt wide left. Then in the fourth quarter, he whiffed on a 44-yard field goal try that would’ve given the Jets a five-point lead.

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This isn’t the first time that Zuerlein has cost the Jets with his leg this year. In Week 4, he pulled a game-winning attempt from 50 yards out in the closing minute of a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos . Two weeks later, the 36-year-old missed two more field goals in the second half of New York’s 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills .

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Monday, Zuerlein had his 35-yard field goal attempt blocked in the third quarter, as well as an extra point attempt that was negated by a penalty.

Zuerlein’s inability to sail the ball through the uprights is all the more frustrating considering the Jets boasted a far more reliable kicker on their roster over the offseason. Back in January, New York signed Austin Seibert to a reserve/future contract following two stints with the team last year.

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In his lone regular season with the Jets, Seibert made a 34-yard field goal try and extra point during a Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys. He additionally connected on a PAT and game-sealing field goal in New York’s 20-17 preseason win over the Washington Commanders in August.

The strong showing drew rave reviews from Jets then-head coach Robert Saleh, who was fired earlier this month. "I feel like we've got a really good second kicker. I think Seibert is better than a lot of kickers that are employed in the NFL right now," he said at the time.

Sure enough, Seibert has proven Saleh right this season after being signed to the Washington Commanders’ active roster in September. Over seven games, the 27-year-old leads the NFL in field goals made (23) and ranks top-5 in field goal percentage (92%).

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Zuerlein, meanwhile, actively boasts the lowest field goal percentage among all qualified kickers in the league at 60 percent (9-of-15). Despite currently dealing with a clear kicking crisis, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich asserted that the team is still committed to the struggling player.

“We’ve got to take a hard look at everything that we do; everything,” he told reporters in Sunday’s post-game press conference. “It’s not just on Greg; it’s on all of us. We’ll do that this week.”

As for whether or not he regrets keeping Zuerlein for this long, Ulbrich declared: “No, I do not.”

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