For most of the 2025 season, New York Jets defensive captain Jamien Sherwood has been a massive disappointment. After signing a three-year, $45 million extension in the offseason, expectations were high for the 25-year-old linebacker.

However, Sherwood’s issues in pass coverage, inconsistent effort, and inability to get players in the right spot have left fans and analysts questioning the Jets’ decision to sign him to a lucrative contract.

After a bounce-back game in New York’s 29-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints, though, the Jets may have discovered the underlying reason for Sherwood’s underperformance.

Perhaps it wasn’t Sherwood, after all.

Sherwood bounces back

Sunday’s showing in New Orleans was easily Sherwood’s best game of the 2025 season. In his first game under interim defensive coordinator Chris Harris, Sherwood made numerous crucial stops and looked comfortable in pass coverage. The Jets’ captain added his second sack of the season.

Beyond the numbers, the most notable takeaway was how comfortable Sherwood looked throughout the contest.

Comfort is something Jets fans have not seen much of from Sherwood this season. He has consistently been exposed in pass coverage, and questions about effort have followed him as he tries to live up to his captaincy.

Something changed on Sunday, though. With Chris Harris brought in on an interim basis, Sherwood was attacking all game. He looked like he trusted what he was reading, and it resulted in plenty of good plays, along with fewer mistakes.

If anything, it revealed the disconnect that existed between defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and his players. What Wilks asked of his unit did not align with what his players do best.

Finally, it seemed that Sherwood, considered a building block for the franchise’s future, was comfortable enough to show why the Jets invested in him.

Jets’ defensive outlook

Although Sherwood played well on Sunday, it did little to change the outcome of the contest. New Orleans amassed 412 yards of offense, went 8-of-17 on third down, and racked up 23 first downs in a blowout win.

The most significant focus for the Jets, however, was effort. Players like Sherwood and others on the unit had seemingly suffered from a lack of effort in recent weeks. That changed against New Orleans.

“I asked our players to do was to play with effort. I thought that our guys did that,” said head coach Aaron Glenn. “I thought that they went out there, they fought hard and did everything they could to keep us in this game. There were a couple of things from an overall perspective that we got to get better at.”

Glenn highlighted getting off the field on third down and the field position battle as two factors that the Jets clearly lost throughout the contest.

Sherwood may not have been perfect on Sunday, but he was a clear bright spot for the defense. His improved play highlights what many fans and analysts may have expected from the beginning.

Maybe Sherwood didn’t just forget how to play football at a high level. If Sunday’s performance becomes a trend for Sherwood to close out the season, it will show that Wilks didn’t do a good enough job of highlighting what the Auburn product excels at.