'It's been a constant battle': Jets coach after team bows out of playoff race following 0-30 loss to Dolphins

After a humongous loss to the Miami Dolphins, 0-30, the New York Jets have officially been eliminated from the playoffs race. The club's season started with a lot of promise with the inclusion of veteran Aaron Rodgers. However, nothing clicked for them with Rodgers' injury and an inconsistent team combination, followed by some big defeats. Their latest defeat versus the Dolphins sealed their fate for the ongoing season as they are out of the playoff race, i.e. for the 13th straight year.

Following the humiliating loss, head coachRobert Saleh commented on the playoff miss.

"It's disappointing, starting with the first series of the year until now. It's been a constant battle,"Saleh was quoted as saying by ESPN. Cornerback Sauce Gardner, on the other hand,admitted the team wasted an opportunity to maybe get Rodgers back for the stretch run.

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In this regard, he said, "Our job is to keep winning and if us winning would've brought him back, then, yes, [we let him down]. But that's not something that's on everybody's mind. At the end of the day, we just want to win." Rodgers could have been medically cleared this week, however,he said on numerous occasions that it wouldn't make sense to play if there are no playoff implications for the Jets.

Saleh further blamed the offensive line, saying, "It starts up front. We have to be better up front." He added, "We got to communicate better as a whole line. We've got to get the cadence right. We all just got to be better as one. ... It's very shocking."

The Jets have had a horrendous run. However, it isn't a one-off poor season. It is to be notedthat they haven't started four quarterbacks in the same season since 1989. This year, they started as Super Bowl contenders but it became a lost cause soon with Rodgers' absence, criticism and questions on form of quarterback Zach Wilson, etc.

With five wins and as many as nine defeats, the Jets are at the third spot in AFC East. One might speculate that a major overhaul is on the cards for them going ahead. It will be interesting to see how Rodgers and Saleh fall into the scheme of things for the struggling side.