There’s no way to sugarcoat it.
The New York Jets’ defense has been nothing short of disastrous this season.
What was expected to be the team’s backbone has instead become one of the league’s weakest units through five games.
While defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has drawn heavy criticism, the question remains: Is coaching the problem, or was the unit’s talent simply overrated entering the season?
Inside the NY Jets’ defensive struggles
The Jets have stumbled to a 0-5 start, with their defense at the center of the collapse.
New York is surrendering 31.4 points per game, the franchise’s fourth-worst defensive start through five contests. Opponents are scoring on more than half their drives (53.7%), the third-highest rate in the league.
But the most glaring issue is the lack of takeaways, or rather, the complete absence of them. The Jets have yet to force a single turnover this season, making them the first team in NFL history to have zero takeaways through five games.
Flashes have been few and far between. The Jets rank near the bottom of the league in virtually every major category; they’re fourth-worst in passing touchdowns allowed (11), 27th in rushing yards surrendered (140.4 per game), and 28th in defensive DVOA, while generating just seven total sacks through five games.
Four of those sacks came in Week 1 against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then, pressure has been nonexistent, even against the injury-ravaged offensive lines of Tampa Bay, Miami, and Dallas.
Who is to blame for the woes?
While Wilks has been anything but solid this season, he isn’t solely responsible for the Jets’ defensive collapse.
Several of last year’s top performers have regressed badly, including nickel cornerback Michael Carter II and linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who this regime signed to a three-year, $45 million extension in the offseason.
Outside of Will McDonald and Jermaine Johnson, the Jets’ edge group has been a liability. Braiden McGregor, Tyler Baron, and Michael Clemons have been entirely unwatchable while playing pivotal snaps throughout Johnson’s absence, and that falls more on general manager Darren Mougey for failing to add experienced depth than on Wilks’ coaching.
What falls on Wilks is his insistence on blitzing.
The Jets’ 30.2% blitz rate ranks seventh in the league, but the Jets aren’t getting home with those blitzes at all, leaving the secondary vulnerable.
The game where Wilks’ poor strategy was exploited the most came against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in Week 3, when New York sent extra rushers on 40% of dropbacks and paid for it. Mayfield carved up one-on-one matchups downfield, turning Wilks’ aggression into a field day.
Overall, several of the Jets’ expected defensive cornerstones have underperformed, which has only magnified the unit’s issues. Wilks hasn’t helped matters, either, as his rigid play-calling approach has failed to elevate the group.
While fans often tend to overrate the talent on paper, optimism entering the season was warranted based on what many of these players had shown in previous years. Instead, the group has yet to piece it together, and five games in, the results speak for themselves.
At 0-5, the Jets are running out of excuses and in desperate need of answers. Whether it’s poor personnel decisions, schematic stubbornness, or a lack of execution, New York’s defense has failed at every level thus far.
What was supposed to carry this team has instead been its greatest weakness. Until the Jets rediscover their identity on that side of the ball, the losses and the questions about who’s to blame will keep piling up.
