After each game, we typically highlight three defensive and three offensive players and look in detail at their performance. We’ll start today with the defense:
Missing their Q
On the face of it, you might think Jets captain Quinnen Williams is not having a good season. He cuts a frustrated figure on the sideline and in the locker room and hasn’t registered a sack since the opener.
However, he is playing hard, and producing well, especially against the run. Williams is well on course to eclipse his career marks for total tackles and tackles for loss and was a massive part of the Panthers’ lack of running success up the middle this week, as they gained just 14 yards on six carries between the tackles.
Williams had a season-high eight tackles, all of which came on running plays for five yards or less, with most of them close to the line of scrimmage and one in the backfield.
He was basically unstoppable inside, constantly winning matchups no matter who he was matched up against.
He also stood his man up up on 4th-and-1 as the Jets forced a turnover on downs, although he didn’t get credit for a tackle, and didn’t have a missed tackle all day.
As noted, he doesn’t have a sack since the opener and his pressure rates are down somewhat, although a lot of that stems from the Jets facing a series of teams who were undermanned inside so restricted themselves to a quick passing game to mitigate pressure.
He did at least have two pressures on Sunday, and set up a sack by dominating his man so that Bryce Young ran away from him and Jowon Briggs was able to clean up.
One of the toughest things about seeing the Jets in this rebuild phase is how clearly it’s affecting guys like Williams to constantly be losing. His effort levels are not dropping though. Hopefully the team around him can make some improvements and get competitive, because few players in the league deserve that more.
Az good as it gets
Rookie Azareye’h Thomas saw his first significant action and was tested for the first time in his rookie year. Having missed preseason, he had only played 15 defensive snaps this year, but played 27 on Sunday and could be thrust into a starting role for Sunday’s game with Sauce Gardner in concussion protocol.
Thomas had his ups and downs, highlighted by a big 3rd down pass breakup to give the Jets a chance to get back into the game, and giving up the game-clinching first down at the end.
On those two plays, Thomas showed those attributes that were considered his biggest strengths and weaknesses when he was being appraised as a draft prospect. His physicality and positioning were on display on the pass breakup, on which he was perhaps lucky the officials didn’t throw a flag, but his lack of speed and recoverability were exposed on the game-clinching throw.
In total, Thomas was targeted four times. The other two were a low incompletion over the middle on which he was in off-coverage and blanketed the receiver at the catch-point and a receiver screen that gained eight but was stopped shy of a first down. We’ll no doubt see him tested more if he gets more reps this week.
Another area where Thomas can contribute is with his physicality against the run. He was in on two stops close to the line of scrimmage, although one was a short yardage conversion.
With more playing time, the Jets will hope that Thomas will settle in the way his fellow rookies Malachi Moore and Kiko Mauigoa seem to be doing. However, if he plays on Sunday, he will be matched up against the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins so it will be a baptism of fire.
Can’t believe my Isaiah
With the injuries to Tony Adams, Jarvis Brownlee, Deuce Carter and now Gardner, Isaiah Oliver’s versatility has come in handy. He was on the field for 12 snaps again this week.
Oliver’s ability to play as a safety, slot corner or in the box – often with only one other linebacker on the field – means there’s always likely to be some kind of role for him unless absolutely everyone is healthy, which never happens.
For the season as a whole, Oliver has had some struggles as he has three missed tackles and a penalty in 111 snaps and has given up nine catches on 10 targets for 70 yards in coverage.
He held up well on Sunday, though. On this play, which came on 3rd-and-7, he lined up like he was a linebacker and then dropped back to pick up the slot receiver on a quick slant as the Jets sent the slot corner (Brownlee) on a blitz. Oliver made the stop short of the marker to force a fourth down.
While the Panthers did successfully convert this time on 4th-and-short, that was well-executed by the Jets and is the kind of situation where hesitation or a deflected pass can lead to a turnover.
In his current utility role, Oliver is arguably more valuable than a below replacement level starter, which he would probably be if called into a full-time role. The Jets really need him to be more consistent within this versatile role, though, as he’s not played as well as he did in 2024.
Three-on-O will follow tomorrow.