The energy was high, and the stadium was roaring as the Jets upped their winning streak to three games after an solid and impressive 34-3 win over the Raiders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. As the team improved to 4-7 this season, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his unit continued to impose its will on the opposition and provide an infectious boost.
"We just knew that we had to keep doing the same thing and focus on the fundamentals and keep being detailed about our work," linebacker Jordan Jenkins said of the defense's performance. "As long as we fulfill our role in the defense, that's what we all bought into, and that's what got us the win."
In weeks past, Coach Adam Gase had said that because of an avalanche of injuries among players on defense, he needed his DC to "get creative."Williams and his group responded. In the game, the defense limited the Raiders to one field goal, which came in their opening drive. Oakland was shutout in the second half. The last time the Jets allowed three points in a game was in a 32-3 win against the Jaguars on Sept.18, 2011.
"Honestly, we didn't want to give up three points," said safety Jamal Adams. "But it did happen. But that was a great finish. It was not just the defense finishing, it was the offense finishing as well. We played complimentary football and we fed off one another."
Heading into the game, the Jets were ranked the top run defense in the league, allowing 79.1 yards per game and 2.98 yards per carry. The unit continued its strong play against the run, limiting the Raiders to 68 yards on the ground. The defense also notched its second-lowest third-down conversion rate this year as the Raiders only converted 33% of their opportunities.
"We just have the utmost faith in each other," said Jenkins. "We trust one another to play complimentary football and we know that if any adverse situation comes out, like the offense gets a turnover or something, we [the defense] go out there and stop them. We're just playing off each other really well at this time."
At the end of the day, the Green & White's defense finished with a combined 55 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 touchdown and 5 passes defensed.
"We understand all of the adversity with guys that went down, or whatever it is, we went through a lot early on," said Adams. "We just kept out head down. No matter who came into the building, we welcomed him as another brother on the team and another teammate. We just stick together, keep the group tight and continue to do what we do. We're just going to continue to work hard."
As thrilling as stacking W's may be, the Jets will get back to work at 1 Jets Drive in Florham Park on Wednesday to prepare for the challenge ahead. Next up is a trip to Cincinnati to play the 0-11 Bengals.
"Hell yeah, it's a great feeling," Adams said when asked if winning is contagious. "But at the same time, we don't want to enjoy this too much because we want to move on. It's a 24-hour rule, and that's what it's always been around the league, and that's how we operate."
