Jets fans will be back at the Meadowlands to watch their team play for the first time since 2019 this upcoming season, as MetLife Stadium is slated to operate at full capacity after not hosting any fans in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Carl Lawson, New York’s Week 2 home opener against the Patriots will mark his first time playing in front of a raucous MetLife Stadium home crowd. A roaring home crowd is not something the 26-year-old defensive end is too familiar with, as the Bengals ranked second to last in attendance in three of his four years with the team. Last season marked the only time in Lawson’s career in which Cincinnati ranked in the top half of the league in attendance, but only because it was one of just 19 teams to host fans.
On Sunday, Lawson emplored Jets fans to make the trip to MetLife Stadium in 2021, sharing what it would mean to him and his teammates to have New York’s diehard fans show up and scream for every home game.
“Please come to a game, especially our home games, because it would help me a lot, it would help the D-Line a lot,” Lawson said, per the Jets’ official Twitter. “With no fans, you do not get the silent counts. Offenses, when they come to loud stadiums, they gotta start using silent counts. They can’t hear their own cadence. That is a huge advantage for me.
“So please come to a game. It’ll help tremendously. You are part of helping us win, helping the D-Line. I would love some silent counts, for the offensive line to have to key the ball and I can get out of my stance and go hit the quarterback.”
There is a good chance Lawson gives Jets fans plenty to cheer for in 2021. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound pass rusher is one of the up-and-coming players at his position and is known for being able to consistently collapse an opposing pocket, and, more often than not, bring quarterbacks to the turf.
With Lawson teaming up with the likes of Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi, Sheldon Rankins, Vinny Curry and John Franklin-Myers, New York’s defensive line is primed to take a major step forward in Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich’s defense. If that happens, Jets fans who have been longing for something to cheer about will have no issue going home with a sore throat after every home game.
“If there’s one thing I ask of you, you don’t have to like me, just please, come to the games,” Lawson said. “Scream as loud as you can when the offense is on the field so they can hear nothing. That’ll help. A lot.”
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