The New York Jets defense is elite once again. Through five weeks, the Jets defense ranks second in yards per game (255.8) and fifth in points per game (17.0).
But… it doesn’t really make sense.
When you peek beneath the hood, many individual parts of the Jets’ engine are not operating at full capacity. It does not seem like the unit should be performing at the level it is when you add up the sum of the parts.
Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, and Quinton Jefferson are gone. Haason Reddick still has not shown up (and likely never will). Jermaine Johnson has missed most of the year. Quinnen Williams is off to a very slow start by his standards. Sauce Gardner has had some disappointing moments. Will McDonald is essentially the only pass rusher performing at an admirable level. Michael Carter II and C.J. Mosley have missed a significant amount of time. The safeties aren’t particularly impressive. The run defense has looked soft at times.
Yet, here they are. How is it possible? Let’s narrow it down to find the source of the Jets’ elite defensive output. When we get there, it will all make sense.
Finding the source of the Jets’ defensive success
For starters, anybody who watches the Jets knows that stopping the run is not the focal point of their defense. To be fair, they have improved greatly in that phase, currently ranking ninth-best in yards per attempt allowed (4.2) and 14th-best in yards per game allowed (119.2). This improvement is a massive part of their success, but it is not why they are a top-five defense overall. It’s their pass defense.
New York has allowed a league-low 4.3 net yards per pass attempt. The team also ranks second-best with 136.6 passing yards per game allowed.
There are two primary cogs in every team’s pass defense: the pass rush and the coverage. How much has each facet contributed to the Jets’ exquisite pass defense?
Despite the obstacles they have worked through, the Jets’ pass rush production has been elite. They rank third-best in pressure rate (40.8%) and second in sack rate (10.8%).
However, when you look at the individual pass rush production across the roster, it is difficult to fathom how the Jets have been so productive at getting after the quarterback. Will McDonald is the only Jet having a strong pass-rushing season. Ranked second among all players in sacks (6.0) and 19th in total pressures (19), McDonald is the lone Jet who ranks top 30 in sacks or top 60 in pressures.
When watching the Jets defense this season, it certainly has not felt like the pass rush has been as dominant as its pressure and sack rankings suggest. With McDonald being the only consistent threat, there have rarely been stretches where the pass rush consistently imposed its will. It is common to see the opposing quarterback standing in the pocket unaffected for a frustratingly long time.
Pro Football Focus corroborates these eye-test takeaways. At PFF, the Jets have a team pass-rush grade of 63.4, which ranks 23rd in the NFL. That is a massive disparity between their top-three rankings in pressure rate and sack rate.
The Jets are not a particularly blitz-heavy team, either. They rank 14th with a 28.7% blitz rate, so it’s not as if they are scheming up most of their sacks and pressures. With that in mind, something else must be responsible for closing the gap between the Jets’ 23rd-ranked raw pass-rush performance and their top-three rankings in pressure rate and sack rate.
That something? Their NFL-best pass coverage.
The Jets’ pass coverage is the reason for their top-five overall defensive performance. PFF has the Jets with a team coverage grade of 86.5, tops in the NFL.
In fact, the Jets’ pass coverage is among the best individual defensive units in all of football. Among the four defensive facets graded by PFF (run defense, tackling, coverage, pass rush), the Jets’ 86.5 coverage grade ranks second-best out of 128 units, trailing only the Steelers’ pass rush grade (90.3).
New York’s lockdown coverage is responsible for the massive pressure and sack production despite lackluster individual pass-rushing performance. Thanks to the coverage in the back end, the Jets are racking up boatloads of coverage pressures and coverage sacks due to the quarterback being forced to hold onto the football.
The Jets have recorded 14 sacks that occurred more than four seconds after the snap, tied for the second-most in the NFL. Only four of their 18 sacks happened in under four seconds, meaning 77.8% of the Jets’ sacks came more than four seconds after the snap. This is well above the league average of 64%, which tells us that the Jets rely far more heavily on their coverage to get sacks than the average team.
So, we’ve narrowed it down: The Jets’ league-best coverage has anchored their defensive dominance this year. With an up-and-down run defense and an opportunistic but inconsistent pass rush, elite coverage is the constant that has kept the Jets among the league’s most unbeatable defenses.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the Jets’ coverage. Why is it so good, and who deserves the most credit?
New York Jets’ elite coverage
In addition to their No. 1 ranking in PFF’s team coverage grade, there are other more specific metrics that highlight just how sticky the Jets’ coverage has been.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Jets have forced a tight-window throw (less than 1 yard of separation from the nearest defender when the ball arrives) on 22.1% of opponent passing attempts, the highest rate in the NFL. They have allowed an open throw (3+ yards of separation from the nearest defender when the ball arrives) on 36.4% of opponent passing attempts, the lowest rate in the NFL.
The league averages in tight-window throw rate and open throw rate are 14.8% and 48.5%, respectively. So, out of every 100 throws, the average team allows approximately 15 tight-window throws and nearly 50 open throws. The Jets are allowing 22 tight-window throws and 36 open throws. That is an enormous difference in the quality of throws allowed versus the league average.
Which players are making this happen?
Here are a few of the top contributors.
D.J. Reed
D.J. Reed is having a phenomenal season in a contract year. His 90.8 PFF coverage grade leads all cornerbacks. When targeted, Reed has allowed 6-of-18 passing for 42 yards and no touchdowns. His 33.3% allowed completion rate is the best among cornerbacks to face at least 10 targets.
Sauce Gardner
Yep, you read that right. I’m praising Sauce Gardner. Oh no, what a hot take.
As the Jets’ most scrutinized non-Aaron Rodgers player, Gardner has naturally drawn immense criticism for his mistakes during a disappointing start for the team. And some of those critiques are justified. His tackling must be better; he already has four missed tackles, and his willingness has looked questionable at times. He also dropped an easy interception opportunity against the Vikings and had three penalties (although at least one call was dubious).
Despite all of that, Sauce is still doing Sauce things. The Jets would not have the team-wide coverage statistics that they do without their All-Pro cornerback continuing to play at an All-Pro level.
In five games, Gardner has allowed 10-of-15 passing for 136 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. It’s not the flashiest stat line at first glance, but most of that production (5-of-6 for 97 yards and a touchdown) came in one game against the Titans, particularly on a 40-yard touchdown that was arguably more the fault of safety Chuck Clark.
Overall, Gardner has only yielded six receiving first downs into his coverage this year, barely more than one per game. Four of those were in the Titans game, giving him two first downs allowed in the Jets’ other four games. That is nothing short of dominance.
While Gardner should definitely strive to improve some areas of his game, it is silly to nitpick those shortcomings when he is still performing at an elite level in coverage. Just appreciate his near-unmatched excellence in the area where he gets paid to be excellent, and stop holding him to a standard of total perfection.
Brandin Echols
Due to injuries to Reed and Michael Carter II, Brandin Echols has been called upon to play 90 defensive snaps this season, and he has seized every opportunity thrown his way. Echols has two marvelous interceptions, and on top of that, he has allowed 1-of-6 passing for 6 yards across 56 snaps in coverage.
Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood
While the cornerbacks are locking down the outside, the Jets’ linebackers are securing the middle of the field.
Among linebackers with at least 200 snaps this season, Jamien Sherwood has the second-best PFF coverage grade (87.0), while Quincy Williams ranks third (79.8). Only Fred Warner sits ahead of them.
Sherwood has done a phenomenal job of handling his coverage responsibilities and limiting throws in his area. Across 136 coverage snaps, he has only been targeted 12 times. He has also responded excellently when targeted, allowing 7-of-12 passing for 29 yards. His 2.4 yards per target allowed leads qualified linebackers.
Williams’s coverage production comes in a different form. Unlike Sherwood, Williams has been peppered with targets, seeing 29 of them in his direction (third-most among linebackers). Teams have regretted it, though. Williams has allowed 25-of-29 passing for just 192 yards. That’s 7.7 yards per reception, the third-lowest rate among the 24 linebackers who have defended at least 15 receptions.
This is a product of Williams’s excellent tackling. He has only missed one tackle in the passing game this season. His 5.9% missed tackle rate against the pass ranks 12th-lowest among 65 qualified linebackers.
Thanks to the Williams-Sherwood duo, the Jets have offered some of the best middle-of-the-field coverage in the NFL. On passes into the middle third of the field, the Jets have allowed a 42.5% success rate (2nd) and a 32.5% open-throw rate (1st).
Chuck Clark and Tony Adams
Individually, neither Chuck Clark nor Tony Adams has been a standout. Both of the Jets’ starting safeties have made some individual mistakes this year. Clark allowed a deep touchdown to Calvin Ridley in Week 2, looking slow as he came over the top to help Sauce Gardner. Adams is tied for fifth among safeties with seven missed tackles.
However, it would be extremely difficult for the Jets to be as otherworldly in coverage as they are without the safety duo playing its part. When you watch the Jets’ secondary on a down-to-down basis, Clark and Adams certainly contribute to the team’s success in coverage. They consistently execute their assignments and are in the right spot to prevent a throw into their area. Through five games, coverage busts by the safety duo have been rare.
The Jets have seen a league-high 23 deep passes (20+ air yards) thrown at them, and only three of them resulted in the target having 3+ yards of separation from the nearest defender when the ball arrived. That gives them an open-throw rate of 13% on deep passes, which ranks eighth-lowest. This has helped the Jets allow a 38.1 passer rating on deep passes, the sixth-best mark. It would be tough to achieve these numbers without the help of the safeties.
Clark and Adams have both done a nice job of limiting targets in their direction. Out of 68 qualified safeties (100+ coverage snaps), Clark ranks seventh with a rate of one target every 20.5 coverage snaps, while Adams ranks 18th with one target every 17.7 coverage snaps.
Adams’ on-ball playmaking also deserves praise. He is tied for the most pass breakups among safeties with five.
This duo might not be anything special, but both players are simply doing their jobs in coverage, and that’s all the Jets need from them with such high-level coverage defenders at cornerback and linebacker.
Coverage is the heart and soul of the New York Jets
With a struggling offense, a shaky run defense, and a depleted pass rush, the New York Jets are anchored by their league-best coverage. Everything they do is built around their ability to lock folks down in the back end.
The Jets’ pass defense will maintain its elite overall performance as long as the coverage maintains its dominance. As we have seen through five games, the coverage is so stellar that it can position the pass rush to record top-three production despite not actually performing all that well. Many people tend to claim that a great pass rush should be prioritized to erase the need for a great secondary, but it can work the other way, too.
There is still room for the secondary to get even better. Top-tier slot cornerback Michael Carter II has only been on the field for 39% of the Jets’ defensive snaps due to injuries. Getting Carter II healthy and back to peak form would only improve the back end.
In addition, the Jets are due to start racking up interceptions at some point. Despite their No. 1 rankings in many coverage categories, they only have two interceptions so far. A few passes have got to fall into their arms at some point if they keep sticking to receivers as tightly as they are.
Through four games, it may have been justified to question whether the Jets’ coverage success was inflated by the quality of the teams they had faced, but their Week 5 performance against the vaunted Vikings solidified their elite status. Against an elite Minnesota passing attack that features Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison on the outside, the Jets held the Vikings to their season-worst marks in:
- Tight-window throw rate (25%) – Previous worst: 14.3%
- Open-throw rate (31.3%) – Previous worst: 42.9%
- Passer rating (54.6) – Previous worst: 109.1
The secondary also forced Sam Darnold to average a season-high of 3.34 seconds from snap to throw, which bought time for the Jets pass rush to sack him four times despite registering a mediocre team-wide PFF pass-rush grade of 61.8.
There is a lot of doom and gloom around the Jets right now, but… holy cow, is this Jets secondary a sight to behold. The struggles in other areas of the team should not stop us from appreciating the downright incomparable work this defense is doing in coverage.
