What defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been able to do with this Jets defense recently is nothing short of spectacular. On a team riddled by injury, underperformance, and inexperience, Williams has created a run-stopping machine that’s stymied opponents the past three weeks.
Yes, those opponents have included two rookie quarterbacks on inept offenses, but Williams is also working with a makeshift defense that includes several rookies and journeymen after losing two starting inside linebackers and two starting cornerbacks.
First, Williams lost Avery Williamson to an ACL tear. Then it was C.J. Mosley to a groin injury. Both were expected to solidify the middle of the defense. Next, promising rookie linebacker Blake Cashman hit injured reserve, followed by cornerback Trumaine Johnson. Various other players have missed time with injury, and before now the Jets are starting players no one had heard of before this season.
That defense, led by Jamal Adams and a bunch of backups, held the Raiders to only three points and 208 total yards on Sunday. In one word, the Jets’ 34-3 win over the Raiders was Williams’ masterpiece.
That performance was the culmination of weeks of momentum for Williams’ defense and the unit finally put together a complete game after giving up big, late scores the past two weeks. The 68 rushing yards the Jets allowed made for the fourth consecutive sub-100-yard game and eighth on the year. The Jets defense looked unbeatable against a Raiders team coming off three consecutive wins.
“We’ve been preparing well week in, week out. I just kind of think things are starting to go our way,” cornerback Brian Poole told SNY. “We’re a young defense going in the right direction.”
Poole himself is playing like one of the best cornerbacks in the league after the Jets signed him to a cheap one-year deal this offseason. His 15-yard pick-six sealed the blowout win, and he’s consistency graded as one of the best cornerbacks in the league. His ascension is just one of the many examples of how Williams is getting the most out of his players.
Players like rookie cornerbacks Bless Austin and Arthur Maulet have also played well above expectations over the past few games and they held Derek Carr to just 127 scoreless passing yards and a 52.6 passer rating in Week 12. Defensive linemen Foley Fatukasi and Kyle Phillips have been revelations after starting the season buried on the depth chart, and journeymen linebackers James Burgess, Neville Hewitt, Brandon Copeland and Tarrell Basham have put in solid performances.
None of these players were supposed to start except Poole. Yet, they’ve all played exceptionally well and helped turn the Jets into the best run-stopping team in the league. The Jets have allowed only 78.1 rushing yards per game after Week 12 – the fewest in the league – and less than three yards per rush attempt. Those are incredible numbers for a team that doesn’t have any discernable defensive stars except Adams, who Williams has weaponized into a terrifying pass rusher for the Jets.
The ability to turn role players into competent starters is great, but Williams’ ability to unlock another side of the Jets’ star safety is a testament to his skills as a coach. Adams now has a team-high 6.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits and has evolved into a multi-dimensional safety that could command a record-setting contract this offseason.
After this week’s performance, outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins was asked if the win validated the defense’s ability – a defense many left for dead as injuries and blowouts piled up.
“For us, not really,” Jordan Jenkins said. “For the public and some of the fans and some of the naysayers, I would agree with that. But we knew what we had.”
The Jets gave up an average of 27.7 points between Weeks 2 and 9. But during this three-game winning streak, they’ve allowed just 15.7. It took some time, but Williams finally has the Jets defense looking the way he intended when Adam Gase hired him to be the head coach of the defense.
