BREAKING NEWS: New York Jets roster reaction to Robert Saleh’s firing speaks volumes, with players indicating they “took that personally,” highlighting the emotional impact of the decision on the team dynamics.giang

The New York Jets suffered a frustrating end to a tough week after losing 23-20 to the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” – as the same issues remained despite changing head coaches.

The Jets made an electric start to the game and scored points on their opening two drives, ending the half with a stunning 52-yard Hail Mary as quarterback Aaron Rodgers found wide receiver Allen Lazard in the end zone. Two missed field goals and failure to execute in the red zone cost the Jets, something that’s been their Achilles heel for several seasons despite adding offensive weapons.

It was still a good effort, seeing as Jets owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh just six days before facing the Bills in Week 6, giving defensive coordinator and new interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich less than a week to work with the roster.

Ulbrich also made Todd Downing their new playcaller after offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was demoted. While the Jets needed something to change to revive any playoff hopes, the roster felt guilty after both Saleh and Hackett took the fall.

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In the locker room after Monday’s game, the atmosphere was nonexistent as the narrow defeat felt like another missed opportunity. The roster, made up of experienced and young talent, is a tight-knit family who couldn’t help but feel like they let coach Saleh down while also impacting Hackett’s role by not being ruthless enough on offense.

“It doesn’t matter who is calling, it comes down to execution. We have to be better as players and execute,” Lazard said after the game. “I think we are very unified after the craziness this week. Obviously, we switched play callers, but we came together and it unified us as a team and as an offense especially.

“With all the change, we took that personally. Saleh and Hackett are two phenomenal coaches who have done phenomenal things in this league. It was us, especially as an offense that was short-changed. Not able to produce when we needed to which was the issue.”

The noise from outside the organization has suggested that Saleh and Hackett weren’t getting enough out of a talented team, but inside the locker room, it’s the players who feel responsible for every loss. “We all love both of them, Hackett and Downing, it was just a new view on things,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said about the changes heading into Week 6.

“As a receiver in our room, you want to make sure you’re locked in on all the motions. Definitely a different look on things and we felt good about our game plan going in, we just couldn’t find a way to finish.”

Like Lazard, Wilson also scored a touchdown on Monday night but dropped another potential score in the end zone after being sandwiched by two Bills defensemen. “I’m not feeling good, we lost,” Wilson added.

“Left some plays out on the field. Personally, I’ve got to score that touchdown in the red zone and we’ve got to find a way to not get these penalties and finish. We can’t rely on a kick, we have to find a way to finish drives. It wasn’t because of the plays it wasn’t because of anything, or defense, I just have to play my part and do what it takes to put points on the board.”

Running back Breece Hall shared the same sentiment, as he had two chances to score a touchdown but was stopped just short on both occasions. Like his teammates, he doesn’t pin any blame on Saleh or Hackett. Instead, he believes that their offense has been trending in the right direction this season.

“It was just a matter of time before our offense started clicking and our O-line played great,” Hall said. “We’ve just got to execute better in the red zone, I should have scored. Garrett feels like he should’ve reeled in a touchdown. We can always do more.”

As the Jets dropped to 2-4 and missed the chance to top the AFC East, the mood was sour. But cornerback Sauce Gardner is confident that the roster can pull together and achieve a happy ending. He concluded: “We’ve got to lock arms man, the story is going to be amazing when we dig ourselves out of it.”