Robert Saleh: Jets D has ’embarrassed’ opposing QBs. How far can it take them?

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

Robert Saleh is showing that defensive coaches can still win games in this offensive-centric NFL. The New York Jets are back at .500 at 3-3 — even without the star quarterback they’d been planning to have at the center of the offense all season.

Saleh’s Jets remain relevant after a 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Week 6. The Eagles, who have spent the season doing their best impression of Icarus — flying too close to the sun — finally saw the repercussions of letting opponents stay in games.

The Jets defense did everything it could to flummox quarterback Jalen Hurts and his studly receivers.

“That’s a great team. That’s a dang great defense that we played,” Hurts told reporters after the game. “You turn the ball over four times, you shouldn’t expect to win.”

There was the Jets’ interior pressure, which didn’t tally up to a ton of quarterback hits (4) or even sacks (2). But it created opportunities for the Jets secondary to get its hands on the ball. The secondary logged three interceptions and an insane 12 pass breakups.

Even more mind-bending: New York did it without top cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed. In fact, the Jets didn’t have four of their top six cornerbacks.

“We’ve played a gauntlet of quarterbacks. And I know we haven’t gotten all wins, but we’ve embarrassed all of them,” Saleh said Sunday following the game.

It’s true and it isn’t.

Here’s where Saleh is right:

Week 1 — Josh Allen: 29-of-41, 236, TD, 3 INT, 62.7 QB rating
Week 4 — Patrick Mahomes: 18-of-30, 203 yards, TD, 2 INT, 63.6 QB rating
Week 6 — Jalen Hurts: 27-of-43, 279, TD, 3 INT, 60.1 QB rating

And here’s where it’s a little more complicated:

Week 2 — Dak Prescott: 31-of-38, 255 yards, 2 TDs, 112.2 QB rating
Week 3 — Mac Jones: 15-of-29, 201 yards, 1 TD, 85.6 QB rating
Week 5 — Russell Wilson: 20-of-31, 196 yards, 2 TDs, 103.7 QB rating

For whatever reason, Saleh’s defense has stepped up against the league’s best quarterbacks. But the Jets have also faltered against some of the lesser QBs, particularly when you consider how dreadful and turnover-prone Jones and Wilson have been this year. The Jets are New England‘s only win this season — which was on Saleh’s mind after the win over the Eagles.

“Probably let one slip away with the Patriots,” he said.

Jets defense forces four turnovers in stunning 20-14 win over Eagles

But when New York is playing opportunistic football, it is one of the worst defenses to make a mistake against. Anytime Hurts put up an inadvisable throw, the Jets made him pay. Anytime Hurts seemed to lose track of his internal throwing clock, the Jets made him pay.

The defense set up the offense with great field position throughout the game. Safety Tony Adams generated 45 yards on his interception return to the 8-yard line. Bryce Hall added a five-yard interception return to the Jets’ 38 — which helped wipe away a potential scoring drive. Quincy Williams returned his interception for seven yards to the Philly 45-yard line. The team’s recovered fumble was right at midfield.

The Eagles had every opportunity to shut the door on the Jets, particularly with New York’s offense struggling to score a touchdown. But Philly let the Jets linger. And that last interception proved devastating for the Eagles. Adams’ interception made life incredibly easy for the Jets, who had not scored a touchdown in their previous eight red-zone appearances.

“I couldn’t believe he threw it,” Wilson said of Hurts’ throw.

Zach Wilson and the Jets offense had the ball inside the 10-yard line. On the first play of that drive, with 1 minute and 46 seconds left in the game, running back Breece Hall punched in the ball for a touchdown. Now, the Eagles might have been letting the Jets score. That way, they could get the ball back for one more drive — and with time. But if that is what Philly was doing, it backfired. The Eagles went four-and-out on the ensuing drive, with a turnover on downs that ended the game.

The game affirmed what we’ve known for the past two years: This Jets defense is elite.

The question now is whether the offense has shown enough signs of life to lead the team from dark horse to contender.

“We’re that frickin’ close,” Saleh said postgame indicating an inch with his fingers. “I think [Wilson] played a gauntlet of defenses. … He’s been playing pretty good ball, and I just think he’s going to continue to get better.”

How did Wilson feel about scoring just the one touchdown on five red-zone appearances?

“I wouldn’t say I was concerned. I was frustrated. I mean, too many negative plays,” he told reporters. “We got to find a way, and we’re going to do that. We’re gonna go back and watch this tape, so we can score some touchdowns.”

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To Wilson’s credit, he made no glaring mistakes — no interceptions and no fumbles. The Jets likely wouldn’t have won if their quarterback coughed up the football. His rushing attack didn’t buoy him either — New York averaged 4.2 yards per carry, and the running backs can thank receiver Xavier Gipson and his 18-yard carry for helping out the team’s average.

Wilson completed 19 of 33 passes (58%) for 186 yards. He took five sacks and 10 quarterback hits, a symptom of his propensity to hold onto the football past the point of when he should. But he got the win. Wilson’s ho-hum performances was all that New York needed for its defense to win the game for the Jets — which they’re proving they can do at a fairly substantial clip.

They’re back to the 2022 script. And that had them winning just below .500. So the question is whether something can change. Can the Jets engineer something more out of their offense to get over the hump and — maybe just maybe — into the playoffs? That’s probably what it’ll take. Something extra from Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and perhaps even Zach Wilson.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.