Jets’ Dominant Defense Was Bright Spot in Crushing Loss to Patriots

New York sacked Mac Jones six times, keeping the Patriots from scoring a touchdown on offense all afternoon.

Micheal Clemons, Carl Lawson, Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, Quinnen Williams and his brother Quincy Williams.

These are the names of the Jets' defensive front seven who logged six sacks in a 10-3 loss Sunday against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

It is their efforts that kept New York in the game as their offense continued on sputtering.

I can't say in the 40 years I've been watching the game, I have seen more dismal offensive statistics than the Jets put up in this one.

Had it not been for New York's defense, specifically their front-seven, this one would have been even far uglier.

Right from New England's first offensive snap, Franklin-Myers and Quincy Williams were there to bring down Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones.

That set the tone.

New York's front-seven not only had their ears pinned back putting heat on Jones all afternoon, they were just as stingy against the run.

Outside of a couple nice longer gains by Patriots' running back Damien Harris, the Jets did a solid job bottling up their running game.

I counted 21 times in my notes when they stonewalled New England at the line of scrimmage.

The defensive front-seven additionally did a good job of keeping New York in the game in several critical situations.

Case in point, the Patriots were down by the goal-line toward the end of the 2nd quarter and Huff came through with a big pressure.

There was holding as well on the play by New England, which set them back another 10-yards.

On the ensuing play, Lawson came through with yet more pressure, this time resulting in a sack, which led to New England missing a 44-yard field goal.

Those are the types of plays that made a real difference by essentially taking points off the scoreboard.

Toward the end of the 3rd quarter, the Jets' defensive front came up big again on a Patriots' 4th and 3.

New England tried to run the ball to pick up a first-down, but they were stymied.

Then in the 4th quarter, Huff struck again with another strong pressure, which forced an incompletion that brought New England's punt team back on the field.

GO TO WORK @Bryce55H!!#NYJvsNE on CBS pic.twitter.com/hTIKvateZq

— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 20, 2022

New York's defensive front seven did what they needed to do time after time to keep the team in the game, but the offense just could not come through.

At best, most of the game Jones only had time to throw short-range screens and quick slants.

The pocket became more and more uncomfortable, the longer he stood there looking downfield.

Granted, Jones did hit a couple of passes in the intermediate route range, but he never had enough time to set up and throw the ball deep.

That says a lot about this defensive front and it says even more about Jets' General Manager Joe Douglas, who worked at building it.

Credit must be given where credit is due.

Last season, the Jets struggled finishing with an average of 1.9 sacks per game (No. 25).

In 2022, that number has jumped to New York averaging 2.9 sacks per game (No. 10)

The pass rush has gone from being one of the worst in the league, to being a playoff-caliber unit and a force to be reckoned with.

That's a big deal. 

Follow Daniel Kelly on Twitter (@danielkellybook). Be sure to bookmark Jets Country and check back daily for news, analysis and more.