Shockingly, the Jets had one of many worst defenses within the NFL early this season.
However their unit improved immensely, serving to them go 2-2 since their Week 9 bye after an 0-7 begin.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn acknowledged they’ve improved considerably defensively, however they aren’t fairly as much as his requirements but.
“We are playing better, but we’re still not where we need to be,” Glenn stated. “I’m an enormous fan of making an attempt to be High 10 in each defensive class, however generally it isn’t completely lifelike, however we shoot for that.
“I like the way we’re trending, but we are still not where we need to be.”
The Jets got here into 2025 with three consecutive seasons of ending within the high 5 in yards allowed. However beneath Glenn and first-year defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, the Jets’ defensive scheme shifted from counting on their line of defense to generate stress on opposing quarterbacks to extra blitzing and shifting between zone and man protection.
The Jets protection has trended up since their final recreation in opposition to the Dolphins in Week 4. Gang Inexperienced entered that contest in opposition to Miami surrendering 86 factors by means of three video games and permitting a mean of 340.3 yards per recreation. Towards the Dolphins, the Jets allowed 300 yards and misplaced 27-21, with three crucial fumbles that helped Miami rating 14 factors off turnovers.
By 12 video games, the Jets rank seventeenth in yards (327.3) and twenty seventh in factors allowed (26.3). Not vital numbers, however a little bit of an enchancment from when many Jets gamers frequently missed tackles and appeared out of place on a number of move performs through the early phases of the season.
“We got a lot of young pups back there in the safety room. So really just having the confidence in calling stuff and us having the confidence like, ‘They know what they’re doing.’”
The Jets’ sack complete additionally elevated. Of their final 4 video games, they’ve registered 10 sacks, twice as many as of their earlier 5 video games mixed earlier than their bye.
These averages elevated after the Falcons and operating again Bijan Robinson rushed for 167 yards on the bottom of their 27-24 loss to the Jets final Sunday. Robinson completed with 142 of these with a speeding landing.
“I hate that it happened, but I’m not overly concerned,” Glenn stated about Robinson’s efficiency. “We’re been fairly good at defending the run. If one workforce comes out and so they have a very good day, I’m not going to have a look at it as we suck now.
“It is just one of those things. Bijan is a great player, but that doesn’t take away what we try to do each week as far as stopping the run and forcing a team to be one-dimensional. So we got to get better in that aspect. I know Bijan is a good player, but it is still unacceptable to give up [142] yards to one player. We looked at that, we looked at some of the issues with it. There were a number of missed tackles, and a lot of the missed tackles were us diving to the ground instead of running through the man.”
The Jets’ passing protection additionally continued to make strides this season. They rank tenth in passing yards allowed (196.1), even with out Gardner and haven’t allowed a 300-yard passing recreation this season.
Nonetheless, the Jets’ secondary nonetheless has not recorded an interception by means of 12 video games, which is an NFL document. In addition they have only one defensive takeaway and two complete, which is the fewest amongst any workforce within the league.
“I did not know that stat,” Jets cornerback Brandon Stephens stated about not permitting a 300-yard passer this season. “Truthfully, I simply give attention to did we win, did we lose, however yeah, we take satisfaction in that.
“We just got to continue to play our style of ball and limit explosives.”
