now this The Jets knew their defense was going to be like this.
Choking against Ran.
Fierce against the pass.
It doesn't just limit opposition, it contains it.
For the first time this season, the defense performed as expected, holding the Patriots to just 139 yards of offense, recording seven sacks and forcing turnovers on the way to a 24-3 victory at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.
This unit was dominated by the 49ers in Week 1.
Six days later, it was bent but not broken against the Titans.
The lopsided win against the Patriots was reminiscent of last year's defense, hampered only by a poor offense that couldn't stay on the field.
“It was great complementary football. Obviously our offense had the ball and we got a two-point lead, like we've talked about this week,” coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “Then our defensive line and linebackers started attacking from there.”
But it's worth noting that they weren't facing a team with a strong offensive output like the Patriots.
New England was missing two starters on the offensive line (left tackle Bederian Rowe and left guard Sidi Sow) and lacked playmakers at receiver, forcing the Jets to blitz.
Still, the Patriots scored 36 points against the Bengals and Seahawks over the first two weeks of the season and averaged 477.5 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry in those two games.
Rhamondre Stevenson was a force in those games.
Against the Jets he was ineffective, limited to 23 yards on six carries.
The biggest positive defensively was the Jets' ability to completely shut down the Patriots' running game.
Remember, the 49ers swept the Jets and the Titans had success too.
“I wouldn't say we're completely fixed. It's going to be a game-changer, but at the same time, we know our guys can stop the run,” Saleh said. “It helped our offense to have a two-score lead and be able to balance where we throw the ball, but overall, our guys are relentless. … I thought we handled the run really well against Tennessee, but it was good to come in here and do it against a team that we knew was going to run us 30 times.”
Additionally, the Jets were without star middle linebacker C.J. Mosley and this game marked the first they played without standout defensive end Jermaine Johnson.
Mosley is recovering from a bruised right big toe and could return next Sunday against the Broncos, but Johnson is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
Will McDonald continued his strong start to the season with two sacks and four quarterback hits, while Jamien Sherwood performed well in place of Mosley, recording four solo tackles.
As Saleh pointed out, one of the big factors in this performance was the Jets playing with a lead.
Last year, defenses were on the field long and often.
There were very few leads.
Not only did the Jets rank 29th in scoring last year with an average of 15.8 points per game, but they also ranked 25th in average time of possession with 25 minutes, 2 seconds.
In their win over the Patriots, the Jets controlled the ball for an astounding 40 minutes, 4 seconds.
The defense was fresh and it showed.
“[Having the lead] “He gives us a whole different mentality and makes the game play differently,” said safety Chuck Clark, who had a big night with seven tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. “When the offense keeps driving, they feel like they have to force it. It gives us the confidence to just go out there and attack and play aggressively.”
