Injuries along the offensive line? No problem. Over-the-hill 4^th string quarterback? No worries. Topflight defense? Got that. Historically dysfunctional franchise? Check.

For one of the two franchises that played on Thursday Night Football this week, this was the recipe for utter domination and for the other it was another chapter in a very forgettable season.

Guess which one was the Jets.

The New York Jets lost to the Cleveland Browns by a final of 37-20 on Thursday Night Football dropping the Jets record to 6-10 while the Browns improve to 11-5 and actually have a shot at the number one seed in the AFC despite signing 38-year-old Joe Flacco off the couch on November 20.

Flacco torched New York for 296 yards in the first half and became the first QB in 34 games to go over 300 yards against the Jets. He's also the first Cleveland quarterback to pass for more than 300 in four straight games.

Flacco, who played for the Jets for parts of the last three seasons, wasn’t asked back to New York this offseason, even when the Jets lost their own over-the-hill quarterback four offensive plays into the year.

While Flacco insisted revenge wasn't on his mind, but Jets receiver Garrett Wilson said the QB was out to prove something.

“He's wound like that,” Wilson said. “He told me at the end of last season, he wasn't going to be a backup. He was going to play and he held to that. Joe's a great guy. The type of teammate you want. He deserves everything."

The story of the game was nothing I haven’t written almost a dozen times this year. The offense was inept. The team made stupid penalties. The offensive line was beyond putrid.

The Jets offense actually got off to a nice start after giving up an opening drive touchdown to the Flacco-lead Browns. Trevor Siemian, who started his second straight game with Zach Wilson still in concussion protocol, marched the Jets 75 yards in six plays and hit Breece Hall for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.

After that? It was same ol’ Jets on offense. The Jets gained less than 300 yards of total offense the rest of the game and the lone touchdown after that was scored by defensive end Jermaine Johnson on a pick 6.

As his team unraveled, Saleh stood on the sideline, stoic. Some reporters take issue with this, calling him out in the post-game press conference.

At the end of a somber postgame news conference, Saleh was asked why he didn’t seem particularly upset or angry with Thursday’s outcome. “I’m not quite sure about that question,” Saleh said. “Do you want me to throw the podium on the floor?”

As for all of the penalties (the Jets had 12 for 74 yards), Saleh seemed at a loss for words. “I gotta figure it out,” Saleh said. “I gotta figure it out. There was a lot of pre-snap stuff today. A lot of pre-snap stuff today. But we gotta figure it out.”

He’s going to have a long offseason to do just that.

Jets are wasting Garrett Wilson with terrible offense

Garrett Wilson is a rare talent. He is a true, bona fide number one receiver in the NFL. He is also being wasted by the New York Jets. Wilson ended the 30-0 loss against the Miami Dolphins with three receptions on only four targets for a measly 29 yards. The Jets couldn’t manage anything offensively […]

Featured image via Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports