Jets Coach Todd Bowles On WFAN: Hopefully 'We Come Back Hungrier'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Todd Bowles made few excuses Tuesday for the Jets' season-ending loss, which cost the team its first trip to the playoffs in five years.
Instead, in an interview with WFAN's Mike Francesa, the Jets' coach simply used phrases like "We didn't get it done."
PHOTOS: Jets' Season Ends In Disastrous Fashion
Gang Green needed either a win over Buffalo on Sunday or a loss by the Steelers to clinch a spot in the postseason. But the Jets (10-6) came up short against the Bills, 22-17, and Pittsburgh sealed New York's fate by beating the Browns.
"We had everything in front of us to handle that was given to us, and we didn't get it done," said Bowles, who just completed his first season with the Jets. "From that standpoint, it was a disappointment. But we had to win about six of them to get in, and we put ourselves in that situation.
"Hopefully it was a learning lesson for us and we come back hungrier. It's supposed to sting."
The Jets lost four out of five games during the middle of the season, but had entered Sunday's contest riding a five-game winning streak.
"We were up and down, consistency-wise," Bowles said. "We made a bunch of progress. I thought we came together as a team towards the middle of the year. We put together a good run, and we just didn't finish at the end."
Francesa asked Bowles if he was surprised with the season Ryan Fitzpatrick had. The journeyman quarterback passed for 3,905 yards and a franchise-record 31 touchdowns.
"I don't know if I was surprised. I was extremely happy for him because he's been around a while and it hadn't worked out quite like it worked out here," Bowles said. "But he was in a good place with himself mentally. He started trusting the guys and just trusting himself and trusting his pieces, and he started making some plays, and the guys rallied around him because he's an easy guy to like and be around."
Looking ahead to next year, Bowles said the team has a strong nucleus to build upon.
"If we keep our core intact, they should jell quicker having a year in the system," he said. " ... And if we can add the right pieces to what we're trying to do, I think we'll be all right going forward."
