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Zach Wilson was his usual self while the Jets’ defensive line dominated in a win over the Texans. Takeaways from New York’s triumph:
The Jets are back in the win column.
New York fell behind by 11 points early in its trip to Houston, but responded and held on at the end for a 21-14 win over the Texans. Zach Wilson didn’t light Houston’s vulnerable secondary on fire in his return from a sprained PCL, making some familiar mistakes. However, he found paydirt on a rushing touchdown in the third quarter for the eventual game-winning score.
Here are six takeaways from New York’s third win of the season.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Jets managed to beat the Texans in Zach Wilson’s return. Recap:
Zach Wilson returned to the field on Sunday, and the Jets returned to the win column.
The rookie quarterback wasn’t solely responsible for the victory. In fact, Wilson looked shakey throughout the Week 12 contest. But New York’s collective effort was enough to beat the Texans, 21-14, after the two basement-dwellers entered the game with 2-8 records.
Here’s a look at how Wilson and the Jets picked up their first road win of the season.
Jets defensive lineman Jonathan Franklin-Myers rumbled 31 yards with a tip-drill interception of Tyrod Taylor — the first pick of Franklin-Myers’ career.
John Franklin-Myers was a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2018, and he was cut at final cuts in 2019. The Jets picked Franklin-Myers up in 2019, and though he missed the whole season on injured reserve, he impressed his second NFL team enough to draw a four-year, $55 million contract extension with $30.2 million guaranteed this October. One of the more underrated interior defensive linemen in the league this season, Franklin-Myers came into Sunday’s game with the Texans with four sacks, seven quarterback hits, 25 quarterback hurries, and 14 stops.
One thing Franklin-Myers had never had in his NFL career was an interception, and that changed on Sunday. With 9:12 left in the first quarter, Houston quarterback Tyrod Taylor tried to get a quick pass off under pressure, but Franklin-Myers wasn’t having it. Franklin-Myers swatted Taylor’s pass into the air, recovered the ball, and rumbled 31 yards to the Houston 37-yard line.
John Franklin-Myers with the big man swat! 👐pic.twitter.com/egE1y5WvAi
— Jets Nation (@JetsNationCP) November 28, 2021
Any time a big dude gets the ball in open space, you have to love it.
It sounds like some sour grapes.
The Miami Dolphins moved to 4-7 on the season after they defeated the New York Jets 24-17 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
In this game, Miami’s defense continued their string of solid performances that kept the Joe Flacco-led Jets’ offense to just two touchdowns. The Dolphins’ offense wasn’t great, by any means, but they made enough plays to get the job done.
After the contest, Jets defensive lineman Jonathan Franklin-Myers had some harsh comments about Tua Tagovailoa’s play in the Dolphins’ Week 11 win.
According to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes, Franklin-Myers said that Tagovailoa was throwing up prayers, and “sometimes prayers are answered.”
John Franklin-Myers said Tua beat the #Jets by throwing up “prayers” and “sometimes prayers are answered.”
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 21, 2021
Tagovailoa only threw four passes over 10 yards on Sunday including a busted coverage by New York’s secondary that resulted in a 65-yard touchdown for Mack Hollins, Miami’s longest play of the year.
It didn’t seem like there were many “prayers” in this game. That’s not really what this offense is at this point. However, it will be interesting to see if Tagovailoa and the rest of the team use this as motivation going forward, especially with the Jets coming to Hard Rock Stadium in a few weeks.
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Speaking for the first time since signing an extension with the Jets, John Franklin-Myers became emotional when he was asked about his son.
The first person John Franklin-Myers called after signing his new four-year, $55 million extension was his son.
The Jets’ 25-year-old defensive end broke down in tears when talking about his son on Friday. Franklin-Myers explained that he does everything for his son and that he wants him to have “every opportunity.”
“I play football for him,” Franklin-Myers, speaking for the first time since signing his contract, said
The first person John Franklin-Myers called after signing his contract extension? His son.
He gets emotional talking about it: "I play football for him, and I want to give him every opportunity" ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yfF0GlYqfg
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 8, 2021
Franklin-Myers was all smiles immediately after signing his new deal. He tweeted his excitement and noted it was “an honor” to play for the Jets.
I asked Siri for the time, she said it’s time to get paid‼️
An honor to sign an extension to play on this team and with my teammates , it only gets better from here. pic.twitter.com/BDRuXDYoHD
— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) October 8, 2021
Franklin-Myers has performed well during his time with New York. He already has three sacks in four games this season after tallying two in the final three games of the 2020 season. He was originally a fourth-round pick by the Rams in 2018 out of Stephen F. Austin, but he didn’t make the roster in 2019.
The Jets claimed him and he sat out the 2019 season due to injury before playing well at end of the 2020 season.
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Jonh Franklin-Myers has done nothing but impress since joining the Jets. Now he has a new four-year deal with Gang Green.
John Franklin-Myers is staying with the Jets for the foreseeable future.
The young defensive end signed a four-year, $55 million extension with Gang Green, according to the Daily News’ DJ Bien-Aime. The deal includes $30 million in guaranteed money.
Franklin-Myers was on the final year of his rookie contract before inking his new deal with New York.
Franklin-Myers, 25, has enjoyed his time with the Jets after being picked up off waivers before the 2019 season following a rookie campaign with the Rams. He spent the entire 2019 season on injured reserve but tallied two of his three sacks in the final three games of the 2020 season. Franklin-Myers added to his sack total early in 2021 with three in the first four games. He became the youngest Jets player since John Abraham to tally two sacks in the first two games of the season.
Franklin-Myers also has 17 total tackles, five quarterback hits and a forced fumble on the year.
Franklin-Myers, alongside Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, Foley Fatukasi, Bryce Huff and Shaq Lawson, make up an impressive front that’s among the best at winning at the line of scrimmage. Now Franklin-Myers will be part of that line for years to come.
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Zach Wilson has a minor groin injury, but Robert Saleh isn’t worried about the Jets rookie’s availability for Week 2.
Two new Jets starters popped up on the injury report Wednesday.
Zach Wilson has a minor groin injury and defensive end John Franklin-Myers has a calf injury, Robert Saleh said Wednesday. Wilson was a full participant in practice while Franklin-Myers didn’t practice, but Saleh isn’t concerned about either’s availability for the Week 3 matchup with the Broncos.
“[Wilson] woke up a little bit sore and since they touched on him in the training room he has to go on the list,” Saleh said. “It’s not a concern.”
Saleh added that he hopes receiver Jamison Crowder (groin) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood (ankle) could return this week, too. The Jets will need all hands on deck against the Broncos, who boast a solid defense that’s allowed the fifth-fewest points as well, as an offense that can score and put up good yardage.
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John Franklin-Myers had high praise for fellow defensive lineman Tanzel Smart. Smart is fighting for a roster spot this summer.
Tanzel Smart hasn’t made much of an on-field impact with the Jets, but he is influencing at least one teammate behind the scenes.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my life,” John Franklin-Myers recently said on the “Take Flight Spittin’ Fire Podcast.” “He makes me work harder than I’ve ever worked since I’ve been here.”
Given the surplus of talent on the Jets’ defensive line, it is somewhat surprising to hear Franklin-Myers namedrop Smart, a player who saw just 26 total snaps last season. He recorded three total tackles in as many games.
Smart has been a journeyman since entering the league out of Tulane in 2017. He spent three seasons with the Rams before bouncing around to the Bills, Browns and Jets. He’s played in 509 total defesive snaps in his career, and 306 of those came in his rookie year.
While Smart is motivating Franklin-Myers, the former is no threat to the latter’s job. Franklin-Myers is a potential starter following a career year that included 19 total tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, 13 quarterback hits, two pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games.
Smart, meanwhile, will need to go above and beyond this summer if he hopes to crack New York’s deep defensive line rotation.
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Williams broke a bone in his foot that may require surgery and should force him to miss most of the Jets’ offseason workouts.
The Jets will be without their start interior defensive lineman for most of the team’s offseason workouts.
Quinnen Williams will miss 8-10 weeks after breaking a small bone in his foot, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The injury, which will likely require surgery, occurred last week while Williams was doing on-field work at the Jets’ facility, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
This means Williams is likely to miss OTAs and minicamp later this spring, but he should be ready for training camp in the summer if all goes well.
This is a big offseason for Williams as he prepares for his third season with the Jets and first under Robert Saleh. Williams is coming off a career year in which he tallied seven sacks, 14 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and 55 total tackles. He is poised to anchor a Jets defensive line that includes John Franklin-Myers, Foley Fatukasi and free agent acquisition Carl Lawson.
Injuries have played a role early in Williams’ career. He missed time in 2019 with an ankle injury and missed the final two games of the 2020 season with a neck injury.
The Jets got one of the best pass-rushers on the market in Carl Lawson to upgrade their defensive line for Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich.
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Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich found their pass-rusher.
The Jets agreed to terms with former Bengals DE Carl Lawson on a three-year, $45 million contract with $30 million in guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Lawson’s deal can’t become official until the new league year begins on March 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
Edge rusher was arguably the biggest position of need for the Jets and Lawson fits the bill as the perfect player for Saleh and Ulbrich’s 4-3 defense. Lawson thrived in Cincinnati over the past four years with 20.5 total sacks in 51 games. He played exceptionally well this past season, too: Lawson finished second in quarterback hits with 32 and finished fourth among edge rushers with 64 pressures.
Lawson is exactly the type of defensive end the Jets need in their new defense. He’s big, fast, ferocious and should be a terror on the edge. He finished with an 84.9 pass-rush Pro Football Focus grade – ninth in the league – and can play the same role Dee Ford and Nick Bosa played in Saleh’s defense in San Francisco. Lawson isn’t much a run-defender with a 61.1 PFF grade, but the Jets won’t really need him to be in this defense. What the Jets need is a player who can consistently get to the quarterback, and Lawson fits that description.
Even better is his contract. The Jets will pay Lawson up to $15.83 million a year for three years. That’s a steal for a pass-rusher in today’s NFL. He’ll now play in a defense tailored to his strength, which should help him build on the skills he already had and the production he’s used to creating. Lawson, who will turn 26 in June, also fortifies a line already rife with young talent in Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers and Foley Fatukasi.
The Jets defense just got a whole lot better because of Lawson.
