Jets played with kind of energy Davante Adams wanted in Thursday night's win
Davante Adams #17 of the Jets runs in his fourth quarter touchdown against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Davante Adams wanted the Jets to play with more energy, celebrate good plays and pick up teammates after bad ones. He got all that he wanted and more on Thursday night.
The Jets were fired up in the second half against the Texans after a lackluster start that included a dropped pass by Adams that could have led to points. His teammates picked him up at halftime.
“I had some guys coming up to me, saying, ‘Look, man, we know what you’re about. Get ready to go out there and make some more plays,’ ” Adams said.
“Me personally, I don’t get rattled when stuff like that happens in a game. The way that they rallied around me, I almost had to smile a couple of times just because I’m like, ‘Look, it kind of flipped back on me now. I’m the one getting leveled out.’
“That’s why we are a team. We have a lot of talented players that are strong-willed. I’m going to need that just like they need me to do it for them.”
After his first game as a Jet two weeks ago against the Steelers, Adams made headlines for addressing his new teammates following the loss in Pittsburgh. Aaron Rodgers described those pointed remarks as the “realest speech” he’s heard in 20 years in an NFL locker room.
It wasn’t the deciding factor in the Jets’ 21-13 win over the Texans that snapped a five-game losing streak. But the Jets’ galvanizing second half could be something that salvages this season.
They looked and played like a team that was hungry and tired of wasting its opportunities. Adams played a big role in that with his play, words and actions.
“He’s as good a teammate and human I’ve ever been around in any capacity. His influence on this locker room cannot be underestimated,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “He’s one of those force multipliers that just brings people along with him. So fortunate to have him on our team.”
Other than his speech, Adams had been relatively quiet in his first two games as a Jet, totaling seven catches for 84 yards. He had seven for 91 and a touchdown against the Texans.
Adams was in the trainer’s room, trying to get cleared to return to the field as the Jets were trying to put the game away. He got off the exercise bike and reentered the game.
On his second play back, Adams beat his man down the right sideline and caught Rodgers’ pass for a 37-yard score that sealed the victory and gave him his first touchdown as a Jet.
The MetLife Stadium crowd cheered loudly as Adams and his teammates celebrated in the end zone and on the sideline.
“It was great,” Adams said. “I went out there, second play that we had, and we were able to do it. It’s not the first time me and Aaron have done something similar to that. Usually it’s the next week when it happens if you have like an issue having to leave the game early. They put me back out there, so I had to make my time worth it.”
Before that scoring catch, Adams was being evaluated for a head injury, stemming from another crucial catch he made on the drive that ended with Garrett Wilson’s amazing leaping one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. It was fourth-and-2 and Rodgers hit Adams on the left sideline late in the third quarter. Adams made the catch, was flipped and landed on his head.
Ulbrich said as Adams lay there, he “was in a good place.” After Adams checked out with the medical personnel, he checked back in and gave a quick glimpse of what he and Rodgers can do together.
Those two plays were vintage Rodgers and Adams. It was a matter of time before the two former Packers reconnected.
“He’s so talented,” Rodgers said. “We just get him in space, get him a chance to have a two-way go in the slot. He’s really tough to guard.”
Good riddance, October
It was a bizarre month for the Jets. They played in London, had five games and lost four of them, saw their coach fired, acquired Adams and finally had Haason Reddick on the field for the first time.
It calms down this month. The Jets will play only two games — next week at Arizona and Nov. 17 against the Colts — and have their bye.
Ulbrich is focused only on Arizona. “The world may end after this Cardinal game,” he said. “That’s all I’m worried about is this game.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
