National Football League

Jets bench Geno Smith for Matt Simms in second half

Published Dec. 1, 2013 2:49 p.m. ET

Ross Jones

Geno Smith’s last few weeks haven’t gone so well, and it finally reached a tipping point in Sunday's 23-3 loss against the Dolphins.

After a lackluster first half of play, the rookie quarterback was benched in favor of undrafted free agent Matt Simms.

"We were doing nothing," Rex Ryan said after the game. "We did absolutely nothing offensively in the first half, so I was just trying to give us a spark somehow. I figured that might do it, but obviously ... it’s not like it’s just on one man. When games go on like that, you try and find ways to pick the team up."

Smith was inaccurate on throws and finished with a first-half stat line of 4 of 10 for 29 yards and an interception.

Fans cheered when Simms took the field. The Jets had a little more than five minutes in time of possession in the first half and didn’t convert a single third down.

"It’s tough not to be out there with my guys fighting, no matter what the score is," Smith said. "You’ve got to suck it up and you’ve got to be a man about it. That’s what I tried my best to do. The hardest part is that we didn’t come away with a victory."

While Smith has shown some flashes of hope in his rookie season, the past four weeks have been abysmal, as he’s thrown six interceptions without a touchdown pass.

"(I) didn’t do enough, didn’t get it done, couldn’t complete a ball, just wasn’t good enough to get it done," Smith said. "That’s pretty much it."