The score might've said blowout, but there were some positives for the Jets in Thursday night's 42-21 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, WFAN's Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti said.
"I have to say the Jets did impress me at times in this game, offensively," Giannotti said on Friday's "Boomer and Gio" show. "Defensively, they were overmatched, and they had no shot. And with all the injuries, they just were not slowing down this incredible offense. But they had their shots in the first half, man. They were moving the ball!
"This, to me, was not one of those terribly embarrassing losses despite the score that we were talking about the Jets wanted to avoid. I know, it's three scores; I get it. But if you watched this game and didn't just wake up and look at the score, there was some stuff there from Sam (Darnold) and the offense that was positive. But they are just not on the same level as the Baltimore Ravens, who are the best team in football with the best player in football."
Darnold was 18-of-32 passing for 218 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also lost a fumble.
"I thought Sam actually accorded himself well last night," Esiason said. "You know, the difference between, like, Lamar (Jackson) throwing the ball down the field and Sam throwing the ball down the field, Sam had to throw the ball down the field within about 3 inches of the receiver or it wasn't going to be caught because almost every pass was contested. He had no presence at tight end whatsoever."
Jackson strengthened his MVP case, going 15-of-23 for 212 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 86 yards.
The Ravens improved to 12-2 and extended their winning streak to 10.
"How do you beat them, and who does it? 'Cause it's going to go through Baltimore," Giannotti said. "And as I mentioned, out of the four things that they do -- which is Lamar Jackson runs; a running back, mostly Mark Ingram, runs the ball; it's a play-action to a tight end; or it's down the field -- you don't know what's coming at any point, and all of it is successful. If Lamar Jackson is healthy and this good with that speed, which by the way looks like a video game, how do you stop them? Seriously.
Answered Boomer: "I felt like San Francisco and Buffalo played him tough, played him really, really tough. And the way you're going to have to beat them, you're going to have to be up late in the game by more than a field goal and he's going to have to run the two-minute drill. And you're going to have to have somebody that is going to be able to somehow, someway ... it's more about staying true to your rush lanes and not letting him get outside."
To listen to the open of Friday's "Boomer and Gio" show, click on the audio player above.
