Even when you are the better team, there is always a bar to clear.
For the New York Jets’ first-team defense in Thursday’s joint practice with the Washington Commanders, that bar was extremely high. The rain was pouring, the Jets had “home-field advantage,” and a rookie quarterback stood under center for a Washington team that ranked 25th in scoring last season. New York’s starting defense was expected to not only succeed, but to completely dominate.
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And that’s what they did. According to Lynnell Willingham of Washington D.C. radio station 106.7 The Fan, Commanders starting quarterback Jayden Daniels completed only 7-of-15 passes against the Jets’ defense, with all of the completions being checkdowns or screens. Willingham estimates that Daniels’ passes netted “25 yards at max.”
Jayden Daniels finished the day 7/15
All check downs and screens
25 yards at MAX
— Lynnell Willingham (@Nell_BTP) August 8, 2024
Some people may choose to ignore this performance due to the inferior competition. However, it’s the degree of the Jets’ dominance that makes it notable. If the Jets’ defense only performed “pretty good” in this situation, then yes, it wouldn’t be anything to write home about. But they utterly destroyed the Commanders’ offense, asserting their dominance as one of the league’s elite defensive units. The bar was high and they cleared it.
To win a Super Bowl, you obviously must be capable of beating elite teams in the playoffs. The Jets still need to prove they can do that, and with their preseason/joint practice schedule featuring the Commanders, Panthers, and Giants, they won’t get any chances to prove it until the season opener in Santa Clara.
With that being said, before you can worry about winning playoff games, you need to be consistently successful against inferior opponents to secure a favorable position in the playoff bracket. The starting defense’s performance against the Commanders’ starting offense was a step toward proving that despite some big changes to the lineup this offseason, they are still an elite group that will rise to the occasion every week – and will not allow itself to play down to its competition.
