They came from Seattle, Tampa Bay, the University of Cincinnati and the brink of retirement to join together for games like this one.
The Jets secondary was remade in the offseason with the idea that the defense could “coverage you to death,” as head coach Robert Saleh put it. If the offseason free-agent additions of cornerback D.J. Reed from the Seahawks and safety Jordan Whitehead from the Buccaneers, the first-round drafting of Sauce Gardner and the re-signing of veteran safety Lamarcus Joyner weren’t done specifically with two division games per year against the Bills in mind, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the Jets can go strength-on-strength Sunday with an assassin.
MVP frontrunner Josh Allen quarterbacks the NFL’s leading passing offense (307.7 yards per game) with seven different weapons accounting for 19 touchdowns catches.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Saleh said, “but, at the same time, a challenge that we think we’re up for.”
The Jets rank No. 10 in passing yards allowed per game (203.4) and No. 5 in yards per attempt (5.8) after finishing No. 30 in both categories last season. They are one of six teams with an equal number or more of interceptions compared to touchdown passes allowed (nine of each).
“I haven’t been part of a group that has gelled this fast and worked this hard together,” senior defensive assistant and cornerbacks coach Tony Oden said recently. “We have the right men. Period. They are smart, they communicate, they are selfless. When you do that and add some talent to it, that means you give yourself a chance.”
Three of the four starters, plus slot corner Michael Carter, are 25 or younger, so it could be the makings of a group with staying power. Gardner, who will draw the hardest matchup of his stellar season to date against Stefon Diggs, is garnering the most attention, but Oden hasn’t sensed any jealousy even after the rookie was named AFC Player of the Week on Oct. 26.
“You take a specific person and plug him into different situations … but I think it is like the perfect ingredient for him to be in our room and this organization at this time,” Oden said. “Put him in a different system and it might be different, I don’t know. It’s the perfect mix of guys who like to be around each other. They have fun, but they work. They laugh, but they work. They cry, but they work. They celebrate, but they work.”
Reed has instilled an “every rep counts” mentality in practice and physicality in tackling, and Carter is the “unsung hero who does everything the right way,” Oden said. Carter had one interception last week, plus a second returned for a touchdown offset by penalty.
“We say a lot in our DB room, ‘Have grace points,’ ” Reed said. “If somebody is wrong or you are wrong, don’t point the finger. See what you can do better.”
The Bills are averaging 29 scoreboard points, however. The Jets stifled Aaron Rodgers, but also have benefited from facing four backup quarterbacks this season. This is leveling up.
“It’s another championship week — I look at every week that way,” Reed said. “They have a great team. I feel like we have a great team. [The coaches] put a lot on us in the secondary every week, but we have the guys to get the job done. We want that pressure, but it’s a team defense.”