The Jets’ defensive backfield has undergone several significant changes the past three weeks and continues to flash its resiliency and resolve. The new-look secondary will face a huge challenge Thursday night when they take on QB Drake Maye and the streaking Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“I mean you go through this every year,” said CB Brandon Stephens of the condensed week. “But, yeah, these types of games, man, it’s all one-two, it’s all who can recover the best, who really wants this win the most. The time is condensed and so there’s really less time preparing and so it’s going to come down to the small details, who’s going to be the best at the small details and who’s going to play both supportive and complementary football the best.”
Last Tuesday, the Jets traded CB Sauce Gardner to the Colts and then a day later they placed veteran S Andre Cisco on injured reserve. Cisco, whose 41 tackles rank third on the team, sustained a pectoral injury during the Jets’ 39-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 26. With Gardner in concussion protocol for that game, rookie Azareye’h Thomas, a third-round pick from Florida State, made his first professional start and had 5 tackles and 1 PD.
With Gardner playing last Sunday for the Colts in Berlin, Germany, Thomas made his second consecutive start on the outside while veteran Tony Adams took Cisco’s place alongside rookie Malachi Moore against the Browns. But after logging 25 defensive plays against Cleveland, Thomas, who had 2 tackles and 1 PD, exited with a concussion. Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who initially started the game at nickel, shifted to play the boundary corner. Later Qwan’tez Stiggers got a few snaps at CB as well. Isaiah Oliver also saw significant time, playing 52 snaps (71%) at safety.
Browns QB Dillon Gabriel, who was sacked 6 times, completed 17-of-32 passes for 167 yards with 2 TDs, but the Jets gutted out a 27-20 victory.
“I think the guys have handled it well,” Stephens said of the secondary changes. “Obviously, you don’t want to see anybody go down, but unfortunately we’ve been faced with those obstacles, and so I think guys have stepped up when their name is called and have contributed to us performing well on defense and helping this team win.”