Todd Bowles’ Illness Before Patriots-Jets Game Sounds Extremely Painful

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New York Jets didn’t show much toughness on the field Saturday. But their head coach certainly did.

It was rumored that Todd Bowles might not coach in the Jets’ Week 16 matchup with the New England Patriots due to an undisclosed illness that forced him to go to the hospital Friday.

But Bowles traveled with the team and was on the sideline at Gillette Stadium to oversee a 41-3 blowout loss to the Patriots. Bowles disclosed his illness after the game, and the details weren’t pretty.

“Chest was hurting, kidney stones, gallbladder, gallstones, got stuck in the pipe,” Bowles said in his postgame press conference. “A lot of pain, and kind of went from there. Guess I’ll get something done after the season.”

Few ailments are more painful than kidney stones, but Bowles said repeatedly after the game that he was “OK.” The Jets coach was cleared to leave the hospital Saturday and flew to Foxboro to be with his team.

“I had to pass some tests and be feeling somewhat normal to get out of there,” Bowles said.

Bowles didn’t say whether his kidney stones passed before Saturday’s game.

It was a good sign to see Bowles on the field, but his team certainly didn’t improve his mood. The Jets managed just 239 total yards and committed four turnovers in a game that was never really close.