The Jets’ defensive line group, as well as the team’s entire defense, came together this week for a few heart-to-heart sessions. The result, said Quinnen Williams, is that “we all made a pact,” and that could be the impetus that pulls their team together during the Florida leg of their early ’25 schedule, after opening with two home losses.
“It wasn’t a special meeting, it was just a regular defensive meeting,” the defensive co-captain said in the locker room after Thursday’s practice for Sunday’s first road game of the year at Tampa Bay. “We all took constructive criticism from each other, owned up to what we need to do right and get better at, not just talking about it but really taking the time yesterday and today to get better at what we need to get better at.”
Veteran DL Harrison Phillipsadded: “I think the intensity has been great. We’ve been real dialed in in the walkthroughs and a lot of different periods that we’ve had. I think there’s been a lot of leadership, whether from the coaching staff or from older players, to still help show the young roster that we have how to stay consistent in this league and how to continually improve and learn from the times when it’s not good enough.”
The Jets’ big men in the defensive front are insistent that their unit and their defense are more what they showed in Week 1 — holding the Steelers to 53 rushing yards and 271 total yards — than what unfolded in Week 2 — yielding 224 rush yards and 403 totals yards to the Bills.
“We have the guys in our defensive room to be able to be one of the best defenses in this league,” said Williams. “And just executing and not beating ourselves, getting off on third down, not making mental errors, not making penalties on third down is a big one, and also getting turnovers. We are capable of fixing every last one of those things and doing those things.”
Phillips highlighted the strong game assembled by fellow DL trade acquisition Jowon Briggs, traded to the Jets in August, against the Bills.
“Briggs had a great game,” he said. “Just consistency, like I’m sure Briggs would say the same thing. It’s not like he was doing something super special or extraordinary to have some production. We don’t really get to dictate the big play. It’s just do your job and the big play is going to come if they try to test your gap.”