Count Matt Forte among those perplexed by the play-calling of Jets offensive coordinator John Morton during the team’s 25-20 loss to the Falcons on Sunday.
The Jets came into the game with a run-heavy game-plan, according to the New York Daily News. Considering the downpour at MetLife Stadium, plus the fact that New York led at 17-13 at halftime and 17-16 after three quarters, the decision essentially to abandon the run was an odd one.
After a 24-19 pass-run ratio through three quarters, Morton called 13 passes to two runs in the fourth. The final tally was 37 passes and 21 runs.
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Bilal Powell had a team-high 14 carries for the Jets, while Forte, who's known to be a mudder, got just four totes.
“I don't really think we ran the ball enough with the weather being the way it was," Forte told the Daily News. "I think that kind of hurt us."
"I'm definitely surprised by (there were not more runs called), because we knew the weather was going to be like that," Forte added. "It continued to rain the entire game. I think we only ran the ball 20 times. (There) should have been at least one person getting 20 carries -- something like that -- with the way the weather was. I thought we were going to grind them out on the ground like that, but it ended up not turning out that way."
The Jets, though, haven’t been particularly effective running the ball. They gained just 42 yards on the ground against the Falcons, and their running backs have gained only 186 yards on 60 carries (3.1 ypc) during the team’s current three-game losing streak.
Nevertheless, Forte believes the Jets should have stuck with their plan.
"Passing the ball is tricky, because if you don't complete it, it stops the clock," Forte said. "When you run the ball, the clock keeps rolling. If you're running the ball and you keep their offense off the field, basically time's running out on them. A lot of bad things can happen when you're throwing the ball: Interceptions, sacks…. When you're closing games out, you definitely got to be able to run the ball."
For what it's worth, Jets quarterback Josh McCown completed 26 of 33 throws for 257 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Next up for the Jets is home game against the division rival Bills on Thursday night.