“It’s like he had a horseshoe up his ass.”
In 2023, the New York Jets were playing out the string when they landed in Cleveland, where the Browns beat them 37-20 in a game that was even more lopsided than the score suggests.
Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco’s final numbers were impressive (309 yards, three touchdowns), but one Jets coach left Ohio unimpressed. He texted the above quote to The Athletic — the point being that Flacco had a number of near-interceptions and inaccurate throws that somehow found their way into the hands of Browns receivers. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson did pick off one pass, which he returned for a touchdown, but there were more takeaways left on the table.
Maybe luck wasn’t on the Jets’ side that day, though it rarely is. They, of course, are familiar with the concept of bad luck, but not quite like the run of bad luck they’re currently experiencing when it comes to takeaways. There’s more going on here.
It’s like that day in Cleveland. Most weeks, it feels as if every opposing quarterback has a lucky horseshoe shoved up where the sun doesn’t shine. The Jets, somehow, have zero interceptions through 12 games — the longest run without a pick to start a season in NFL history. The last interception came in Week 18 of last season against the Miami Dolphins, secured by safety Ashtyn Davis for his second pick of the day. Davis now plays for the Dolphins, who the Jets will face at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
It gets worse: The Jets only have two takeaways all season — a forced fumble in London against the Denver Broncos, and a muffed punt fumble recovery last week against the Atlanta Falcons — and are currently on pace to set a new NFL record for fewest total takeaways (though it should be noted interceptions weren’t recorded until 1940). The previous record was held by the San Francisco 49ers, who finished with seven takeaways in 2018.
On the interception side of things, the all-time low came from that 49ers team in 2018 when they had two picks and finished with a 4-12 record. The 1982 Houston Oilers had three interceptions in a nine-game season (they finished 1-8), as did the 2020 Texans, who went 4-12. The 2025 Minnesota Vikings have three interceptions through 12 games.
It should come as no surprise that all of those teams finished with losing records. The Jets have had many problems during a 3-9 season, but their inability to force turnovers on defense ranks at or near the top of the list.
“It’s something that we’ve been talking about, preaching, emphasizing, teaching, and we know they come in bunches and hopefully that’s going to be this week,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said on Thursday. “We emphasize it, we talk about it. The most important thing, ultimately, is to win, and that’s what we want, but collectively, as a defense, you want to be able to have those because it’s going to allow and help you to win giving those possessions back to our offense. So, again, with me, play-calling, putting the guys in position to be successful, and then really just honing in fundamentally on our technique, our eyes in the right spot. We’ve had opportunities, and we just got to be able to finish.”
Wilks has said previously he doesn’t believe in “luck,” and it would be foolhardy to put the entirety of the blame for the Jets’ lack of interceptions on fate, but there might be at least a little something to that idea when it comes to who the competition is.
Pro Football Focus defines a “turnover-worthy play” for a quarterback as “a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling.” Quarterbacks the Jets have faced have only been dinged for six turnover-worthy plays.
By comparison, the Chicago Bears lead the NFL with 17 interceptions. In the last three weeks alone, opposing quarterbacks have committed seven turnover-worthy plays. No quarterback has committed even more than one against the Jets, including turnover-prone quarterbacks like Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young.
It’s not as if the Jets haven’t had opportunities to make plays on the ball. As a team, they rank 17th in pass deflections with 52. There have only been a couple of instances when the Jets have actually dropped obvious interceptions, and one of them came when cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers and safety Tony Adams collided a couple of weeks ago against the New England Patriots, preventing what might’ve been a Stiggers pick.
“Any time the ball is in the air, we think it should be a pick,” said head coach Aaron Glenn. “Any time the ball is in the air, we want to have it. It’s disappointing that we don’t have interceptions, because coming from what I’ve always played, you expect those things to happen. But, man, we really have to work on that. We have to be able to see the ball, win zone coverage, you’ve got to see the ball, you’ve got to be able to break on the ball. When you’re in man coverage, you’ve got to be able to play with your back to the quarterback and be able to react to the ball when it’s in your vicinity of where you’re at playing the man. It’s really puzzling, it really is.”
It must be especially puzzling for someone like Glenn, who became a Pro Bowl cornerback on the virtue of his ability to pick off passes. Glenn intercepted 41 passes in his career, including eight seasons in which he had three or more interceptions, and four seasons during which he had five or more. He’s not alone on the Jets coaching staff either.
Defensive backs coach Chris Harris had 16 picks during his playing career, including five in 2010 with the Bears. His final NFL season, 2012, was Harris’s only year without an interception. Assistant defensive backs coach Dre’ Bly had 43 career interceptions, with at least three in nine of his 11 seasons and three years with six picks. He had another season with five.
If the Jets finish with five as a team this season, it would be a miracle.
“It sucks, but we’re working towards it,” said cornerback Brandon Stephens. “Every guy on the defense is hungry to get one. We just have to be more intentional about it, whether that’s forcing a fumble and getting on it or making a play when the ball is thrown to us. It’s definitely not a good thing that we’re last in the league in turnovers, but we got more ball to play.”
There are a lot of variables that could be at play, such as schemes, preparation and lack of opportunity. Pass rush can be a factor. After all, the more a quarterback is disrupted at the time of his throw, the more likely that throw will be errant. The Jets rank 28th in the NFL in sacks (21) and 28th in pressure percentage (30.8 percent).
Another issue to consider: None of the Jets’ defensive backs has a rich history of picking off passes. Stephens had two interceptions in 2023, and none in his other four NFL seasons. Jarvis Brownlee has one interception in 26 NFL games, though he did have six in 48 college games. Safety Andre Cisco, now injured, had one interception with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024. Tony Adams had three picks for the Jets in 2023 but only one in 26 games since. Isaiah Oliver has three interceptions in 108 career games, and none in 29 games with the Jets. Rookie corner Azareye’h Thomas had two picks in 37 games at Florida State, while rookie safety Malachi Moore had three over his last 52 games at Alabama.
Before the Jets traded away Sauce Gardner, he had one interception in his previous 43 games. Same for Michael Carter II, who hadn’t had one since 2022 before getting dealt.
To the point about personnel, expect the Jets to make play-making a priority this offseason on defense. That was a staple of Glenn’s secondaries with the Detroit Lions. Safety Kerby Joseph had nine interceptions for Detroit in 2024, and Brian Branch had four. Right now, the Jets would kill for just one.