Damning defensive trend proves NY Jets made fatal mistake firing Robert Saleh

The NY Jets' loss against the Miami Dolphins may have helped the team's draft position, but it was also an extremely painful defeat that has helped symbolize the Jeff Ulbrich era. Robert Saleh was far from Bill Walsh, but he looks like a savant compared to his former defensive coordinator.

In the last four weeks, Ulbrich has been obliterated 31-6 by the Arizona Cardinals and lost three straight close games, two of which were at home. In each of the last three games, against the Colts, Seahawks, and Dolphins, the Jets led in the fourth quarter, only to fall in defeat.

The offense has been slightly better since Saleh was fired and Todd Downing was made the play-caller, but Saleh was likely to make that move anyway. The defensive decline is a sign of just how rotten of a coach Ulbrich has been.

When the Jets scored at least 20 points in a game under Saleh, which is still below the league average, the team went 17-7. In six games under Ulbrich, the team has hit that mark six times, but won just one of them. The decision to fire Saleh is looking worse by the week.

Jets' defensive decline shows firing Robert Saleh was wrong

Since Saleh was fired, the defense went from a clear top-five unit to a bottom-five one. As a result of losing Saleh's acumen and Ulbrich not delegating his defensive coordinator responsibilities to an assistant, the Jets have been stretched so thin they are unable to lock down in close games.

The entire reason the Aaron Rodgers trade made sense for the Jets was the fact Saleh was able to keep the defense performing at a high level. They just needed an offensive boost when compared to Zach Wilson. Even at Rodgers' worst this season, he has been leaps and bounds better than Wilson. None of that has mattered.

The only game the Jets won in the Ulbrich era was a Thursday Night game against the Houston Texans, though that game included a near-unwatchable first half and one of the worst offensive line showings any team has had all year. The Jets won by eight points at home. Since then, it has been a complete tire fire.

The Jets probably wouldn't have done much with Saleh this season, but there have been at least four games since his firing, during which one could make an argument that the outcome would be flipped with better coaching. Woody Johnson's latest move has ruined his team's season.