Jets fans outraged as rookie Malachi Corley fumbles touchdown vs Texans: "He should be CUT on the spot"

If the Jets needed a metaphor for their season, they found it against the Texans on Thursday Night Football with Malachi Corley as the chief protagonist. Or antagonist might be a better word where New York fans are concerned.

It encapsulated everything that the Jets have been this season: there were some nice moves before reaching the point where things mattered, there was self-inflicted damage, and there was hubris before anything was achieved. So happy was the rookie about getting his first rushing touchdown that he dropped the ball before it crossed the plane of the endzone.

Malachi Corley looked suitably abashed on the sideline even as his teammates tried to pep him up. It was the appropriate reaction, as the replay showed that the ball rolled out of the back of the endzone, which led to a touchback instead of a touchdown. It is a good thing that he did not have a mobile device on him because he would not have appreciated the reactions on X/Twitter, some of which are given below.

The brickbats kept on coming on social media as Malachi Corley was excoriated by fans with some saying that they could not believe that a professional footballer could be so careless. Here are some more reactions.

"When will these players stop even the thought of doing this" - wondered one fan.

"Idk why these football players do this. Makes no sense" - concurred another.

"I would cut him from the team. Like mid game" - vented one more supporter.

Malachi Corley's fumble disguises problem with Jets' passing game against Texans

Malachi Corley's drop before reaching the endzone was poor but he would have found a lot of company on the Jets, who could get nothing going. Even when they did something right, like when Thomas Morstead's punt forced the Texans to their own two-yard line, Houston took it 98 yards to score the first half's only touchdown.

Perhaps nothing was more indicative of how dysfunctional New York was than Aaron Rodgers' stats before the break. He had seven completions in 14 attempts, giving him a 50 percent completion rate. With Davante Adams, Mike Williams, and Breece Hall dropping passes, he accumulated just 32 yards in the first half. It was the worst performance of his career over the opening couple of quarters.

A good illustration of how far the legendary quarterback's stock has fallen came with 22 seconds remaining in the first half. Instead of a fast drive down the field to set up a field goal or a Hail Mary, the Jets took 10 seconds off the clock and punted after a three-and-out. Boos rang out as New York left for the locker room without a single point and it is hard to see how they can come back from this. Malachi Corley will take some time to forget his part in this debacle.