Adam Gase becomes first coach in at least 26 years to punt on 4th and 1 twice in first five minutes of a game

There’s a famous episode of “Seinfeld” in which George Costanza tries to get fired from the New York Yankees. He purposely stains an old Babe Ruth jersey and drags a World Series trophy around the parking lot, among other things.

With that as a backdrop, let’s examine Adam Gase’s decision-making on Sunday.

The New York Jets entered Sunday 0-4. A fourth-and-1 punt for any coach is usually a bad decision, and for a winless teams it’s particularly egregious. And in the first five minutes of Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, Gase did it twice. Hey, at least he made some history.

One of the punts officially showed up as a fourth-and-2 on the NFL’s stat-tracking website, but even at fourth-and-2 the point still stands. Gase generally does little to help his team win, and punting in short-yardage situations fits the bill. Compare that with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, going for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 20 on Thursday night.

It’s also fair to point out that Gase’s Jets team, which fell to 0-5 after losing 30-10 on Sunday, isn’t good. The Jets went for it on fourth-and-1 deep in Cardinals territory later in the first half, which was the right call, and Le’Veon Bell was stuffed for no gain.

The punting might not sit well with Jets ownership, but that also assumes Jets ownership is paying any attention.

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