Jets' defense eager to right wrongs, make statement in January
Sheldon Rankins of the Jets celebrates his sack during the fourth quarter against the Bengals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sep. 25, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets’ defense wants the chance to show it can shut down teams in the playoffs. They have to get there first, though.
The Jets’ third-ranked defense is the biggest reason they remain in the AFC playoff race heading into Week 17. Everyone on the defense believes they can be better and raise their play even more. The Jets will have the opportunity to prove it Sunday in Seattle and need to win to have any shot at making any statements in the postseason.
“To a man, everybody on this defense feels there’s no team that’s going to line up — I was trying to think of a more elegant way to tell you this — but we just don’t feel like there’s a team that’s going to line up and just kick our [butt] for four quarters,” tackle Sheldon Rankins told Newsday. “We don’t feel like that’s going to happen.
“If given a shot, we take care of business and things fall in the right place and we get ourselves in the dance, we feel like our defense can hold up against anybody.”
To reach the playoffs, the Jets (7-8) have to win their last two games at Seattle and Miami and hope New England loses or ties one of its remaining two games (vs. Miami, at Buffalo).
If the Jets get in, they’ll likely be at Kansas City, Cincinnati or Buffalo — three high-powered offenses. The Jets lost to Cincinnati in September, long before their defense started establishing itself, and split the season series with Buffalo. Both were tight games: a 20-17 win and a 20-12 loss.
The Jets have talent and playmakers on defense. They are No. 3 in total defense (309.3 yards), No. 4 in points allowed (18.8) and No. 5 in passing defense (195.5 yards). Three players made the Pro Bowl — tackle Quinnen Williams, linebacker C.J. Mosley and cornerback Sauce Gardner — and cornerback D.J. Reed is an alternate.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said it’s not productive to look ahead, but he has a lot of confidence in his group matching up against any team.
“This defense absolutely has expectations to dominate every time we’re on the field regardless of circumstance,” Ulbrich said. “We play this game to go to the playoffs, to win it all, to win the Super Bowl. But I think sometimes when you look at the game that way and start looking ahead, we all know that can be trouble.
“The guys, I absolutely believe they’re hyper-focused on this game. It’s all that matters. They do believe that defenses win championships and are absolutely necessary to win, especially in December, January and February.”
The Jets have dropped four straight after experiencing breakdowns in all three phases of the game. The most surprising ones have come on defense. The Jets know that needs to change to keep their playoff hopes alive.
During this four-game skid, the Jets allowed 20 first-half points to Minnesota after giving up 20 only once in the previous seven games. They gave up a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown to the Lions on fourth down with less than two minutes to go and allowed a 96-yard drive by Jacksonville last week.
“It’s going to take more,” Rankins said. “We can play extremely well for four quarters and give up little small things here and there that individually don’t seem like a lot, but when you add them all together, they add up over the course of the game and can come back to bite us in the [butt]. For us, just do a little bit more. Nothing out of character, don’t try to be Superman, but just find a way to do a little bit more.”
That’s what energizes Ulbrich. He said everyone along the defense believes they can be better and do more, and he does too.
“The good things that we did do the last couple of games, there’s absolutely zero men in that entire defensive room that are happy with our effort and would say that’s our standard,” he said. “They believe there’s an absolute ’nother place we can go as far as that’s concerned.
“Very fortunate that we have such a level of humility in that room that they recognize the fact that we have improved but we’re not the defense that we can be yet.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
