Jets' insane Cover Zero call surprised Gase, but not Raiders

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There's a reason bad teams in the NFL often stay bad.

The 2020 New York Jets are Exhibit A in how to be an awful NFL operation. Sitting at 0-11, the Jets led the Raiders by four points with 15 seconds left. The Raiders had the ball near midfield with no timeouts. Conventional wisdom would tell the Jets to play some sort of prevent or Cover 2/3 defense designed to not allow the Raiders to get behind the defense.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had a different idea. With 15 seconds left he called Cover Zero, sending seven defenders on an all-out blitz and leaving his cornerbacks on an island. Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs -- he of the 4.27 40 time -- flew past Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr hit him in stride for a game-winning 46-yard score

While most were stunned that Williams was so reckless, the Raiders weren't, according to NFL Media's Mike Silver.

Jets head coach Adam Gase, however, was stunned.

So, just how insane was Williams' decision to bring the house in said situation? It's one of a kind.

Per ESPN Stats and Info, the Jets are the only team since 2006 to send six or more defenders when they had at least a four-point lead with less than 15 seconds to play and the opponent had more than 40 yards to the end zone. 

RELATED: Schrock's Week 13 takeaways: Raiders avoid catastrophe but don't have look of playoff team

Williams should put that on his resume, something he has to update as of Monday after the Jets fired him.

In the long run, Williams' insane call likely will help the Jets beat out the Jacksonville Jaguars for the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft Trevor Lawrence.

Perhaps Lawrence will end up winning multiple Super Bowls with the Jets and Williams' inexplicable Cover Zero call will become an important moment in the franchise's turnaround.

For now, it's just the latest example of how to not run an NFL franchise.

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