Jets' OC John Morton admits he gave up against Broncos, tried to run out the clock

FLORHAM PARK — Sunday had already been a nightmare for the Jets. And offensive coordinator John Morton didn’t want to make it worse. 

So instead of trying to mount an improbable fourth-quarter comeback with his backup quarterback and the Jets trailing the Broncos 23-0, Morton decided it was time to give up with more than 11 minutes left. 

“Listen, the game was out of hand,” Morton said Thursday. “I didn’t want some bad stuff to happen, so at that time, I don’t like saying, ‘No más,' but it was time to get out of there. 

“They kicked our butts. Sometimes that just happens in the National Football League and I’m not going to sit there and have these guys run a bunch of routes and something bad happen or make bad decisions. I didn’t want that to happen, so I made a decision and I just wanted to run it and just get out of there.”

Morton made the candid admission at his weekly press conference, his first since the Jets’ were shutout by the Broncos on Sunday.

It’s uncommon for a coach to admit that a team gave up and purposely tried to run out the clock. But the Jets were in an uncommon and awful situation. 

Starting quarterback Josh McCown had suffered what turned out to be a season-ending broken hand. And even with McCown, the Jets’ offense was going nowhere — they finished with only 100 total yards, the second-lowest mark in franchise history. 

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His new quarterback, backup Bryce Petty hadn’t played a single snap since the third game of the preseason. He was rusty and playing behind an offensive line that had been ineffective all day.  

Even still, Morton initially gave Petty a chance lead the Jets back from a 20-0 deficit. Morton dialed up six passes on the first seven plays after McCown went into the locker room with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter. It did not go well. Petty went 1-of-5 (getting a first down on a defensive pass interference call) and generally looked like a guy who hadn’t played since August. 

The strategy shifted in the fourth quarter, when Petty started his first full drive with the Jets with 11:33 remaining and the Jets trailing 23-0. From that point on, the Jets ran the ball eight of their final 12 plays. 

Petty went 1-of-8 for 7 yards after replacing McCown and it seems likely that Morton didn’t like what he saw and was trying to protect his young quarterback’s confidence. But when asked directly, Morton wouldn’t say. 

“We were behind. We didn’t have a chance,” Morton said. “They’re just dropping back in coverage and then we would just be throwing and forcing balls. I didn’t want that. I didn’t think that was fair. Call it whatever you want, I just thought that was the right decision to do at that time.”

Petty is slated to start the final three games of the season in McCown’s absence. He’ll get all the reps in practice this week as he prepares to make his fifth career start in one of the loudest, most difficult venues in the league. And Morton, despite his decision to surrender against the Broncos, says he believes Petty can get the job done going forward. 

“We have a lot of confidence in him, otherwise he wouldn’t be the guy,” Morton said. “He is the guy right now. Players believe in him, we all believe in him and we’re going to go in there and try to get a win.”

Injury report: Running back Matt Forte missed practice with a lingering knee injury. Bowles said the decision to play or sit him likely won’t be made until just before the game. Cornerback Morris Claiborne (foot), running back Elijah McGuire (ankle), right guard Brian Winters (abdomen, ankle), and safety Rontez Miles (hamstring) all returned to limited action in practice. Long snapper Thomas Hennessy (head) and cornerback Rashard Robinson (personal) returned to full practice. 

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