Jets come close again, but fall to 0-3 after allowing a field goal as time expires in loss to Bucs

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — For the second time in three weeks, close wasn't nearly good enough for the winless New York Jets.

“It's tough. It's frustrating,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said Sunday after the Jets rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead only to fall 29-27 to the unbeaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a field goal as time expired.

Taylor filled in for injured starter Justin Fields, who suffered a concussion in New York's blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. He threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to get the Jets back in the game.

Will McDonald gave New York a shot at its first win under coach Aaron Glenn by blocking a field goal attempt and returning it 50 yards for a TD that put the Jets ahead 27-26 with under two minutes to go.

But just as the defense was unable to finish off Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers after New York took a late lead in Week 1, the Jets failed to close again. Baker Mayfield led a seven-play, 48-yard drive to position Chase McLaughlin for a 36-yard field goal that won it.

“Obviously, as players, you put on your cleats and your helmet, shoulder pads ... day in and day out to put in the work to go out there and win. You want to see those rewards,” Taylor said. "By no means are moral victories something that we can accept in our locker room. But this is a young team, and we’re changing in a good way.”

The Jets are 0-3 for the third time in six years. Glenn joined Robert Saleh, Adam Gase (2019) and Lou Holtz (1976) as the only coaches to begin their tenures with the Jets with three straight losses.

“We're 0-3. How many more games do we have? Fourteen? That speaks for itself,” Glenn said. "We have a lot of games to go play and we can build off this."

Garrett Wilson had 10 catches for 84 yards for the Jets, including an 11-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. He said he sought out McDonald after the game to let him know how much his effort on the field goal block meant to the team.

“I just told him (from) me, but I hope he took it as the whole team like: ‘Give us a chance.’ That is a pure will play," Wilson said. "When I say will, I mean, like, actual will power, like I am going to make this play. You make a decision before the play and you go out and execute. It is not easy. That gave us a chance. That was an extraordinary play.

“At some point, when people make plays like that, we are going to finish this and celebrate the right way.”

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