Does the New York Jets coach regret keeping the veteran kicker after the Patriots' loss?

Coaches try not to expect a player to win or lose. But it's hard not to take a long, hard look at New York Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein after Sunday's 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots.

Zuerlein was under fire early in the game after making crucial mistakes in previous games. After Sunday's game, the noise got even worse.

After the Jets scored their first touchdown of the game on a touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to tight end Tyler Conklin, Zuerlein came in for the extra point but pulled it hard to the left, giving the Patriots a narrow lead of 7-6 were able to keep.

He hit a 29-yard field goal with 7:54 left in the third quarter to give the Jets a 16-14 lead. But that extra point still made the difference. Early in the fourth quarter, he had a chance to give the Jets a five-point lead with a 44-yard attempt with 12:39 to play.

Zuerlein did that too.

So when the Jets scored a touchdown late in the game to take a five-point lead, they were forced to score two points to extend their lead to seven points thanks to those misses. The Jets missed the conversion and the Patriots won the game on their next drive.

So does Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich regret keeping Zuerlein? That was the question he was asked after Sunday's game?

His answer was quick.

“No, I don’t,” he said.

A few weeks ago, the Jets brought in three kickers for tryouts after their loss to Buffalo: Riley Patterson, Cade York and Matt Coghlin. Zuerlein admitted there were some technical issues after the Bills loss.

At that point, Zuerlein was 6 of 10 field goals this season and had already made some crucial errors.

Against Denver in Week 4, he missed a game-winning 50-yarder. The Jets lost that game 10-9, but he was responsible for all nine of New York's points on the day.

Then, two weeks later against Buffalo, he made 2 of 4 field goals and missed two in the second half that could have given the Jets the lead. In fact, if he had made both kicks, the Jets would have beaten the Bills.

What makes it worse is that both attempts hit the post, meaning it was very close to one or both of them. One shot came from 32 yards and one from 43 yards.

No kicker has missed more field goals in the NFL this season than Zuerlein, a 13-year veteran who joined the Jets in 2022 and was reliable in his first two seasons in New York.