Moments after the Jets dropped a third straight game with a 24-17 loss to the Lions, quarterback Geno Smith walked off the field to a chorus of boos and heckles. Smith spat on the ground and angrily looked at the crowd before twice uttering “F— you!” at a group of fans.
Despite his meltdown on and off the field, Jets head coach Rex Ryan said Smith will still be his starting quarterback moving forward.
The moment, captured by CBS2’s camera, showed an angry and frustrated Smith immediately after yet another subpar performance. Smith finished the game 17-of-33 for 209 yards with a third quarter touchdown but also an interception and a fumble lost. He looked lost in the pocket, consistently overthrew targets and missed open targets down the field on several occasions.
But the moment where his anger spilled over and was directed toward fans has become the ugly takeaway that encapsulates yet another difficult Jets loss.
“I want to apologize if any kid saw me saying any negative remarks walking off the field,” Smith said. “I kind of let my temper get the best of me in that situation. It is a learning process. I have to get better with that. I have to let that stuff roll off my back but today I didn’t do well with that.”
The video of Smith cursing at the Jets fans will air first tonight at 9:45 p.m. on WLNY.
“No matter what happened, I’ve got to not feed into it,” Smith said. “It’s part of the job. I understand the fans want to come out and see victories. We do too as players. [I] can’t even begin to talk about that because what I did was wrong. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Smith fell apart after starting the game with three completions in his first four passes. He completed only one of his next eight passes before halftime as the Jets’ offense stalled.
He was plagued by the same inconsistencies as last year, leading to questions about his development or lack thereof.
“I thought at times he looked really good. Then at other times weren’t quite so good, like the whole team,” Ryan said. “His play was typical of the whole team.”
Smith had 21 interceptions last year, while he is on pace for 20 interceptions this year.
Fans began to chant for veteran backup Michael Vick during the third quarter.
“I’m confident in Geno,” Ryan said. “If Geno Smith is healthy, Geno Smith starts.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
