7 reasons why the Jets defense is playing so poorly

The Jets defense entered the 2021 season with promise with Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich at the helm, but the unit hasn’t lived up to expectations.

Most recently, New York’s defense decided to skip Thursday’s 45-30 loss to the Colts, or so it seemed. It was the second time in three games that a team embarrassed the Jets defense, and it’s not like the unit has been much better in most of New York’s other outings.

There are a lot of reasons for the defensive struggles, but the Jets have been beaten all over the field. Teams have crushed them through the air and on the ground, and the defense is on pace to allow the most points in franchise history.

Here, we’ll dive into why the defense has played so poorly during the Jets’ 2-6 start.

Explosive plays

(Robert Scheer-IndyStar)

Saleh put up a sign in Ulbrich’s office on his first day as the Jets’ defensive coordinator. It read, “eliminate explosive plays.”

The Jets haven’t done that at all. New York has allowed 45 plays of at least 20 yards this season, second behind only the Dolphins prior to their Week 9 game. Most of those plays have come through the air thanks to poor secondary play, particularly among the safeties.

Inexperience

(Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)

The Jets have one of the least-experienced defenses in the NFL. There are young starters are at every level, especially at cornerback and linebacker.

This was by design. Saleh likes his youthful squad and wants to develop them in their first year together. But that means the Jets are highly exploitable, and they’re seeing the consequences of that decision midway through the season.

Injuries

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Injuries are inevitable and unpredictable, but they’ve greatly affected the Jets on defense.

The team lost veteran edge rushers Carl Lawson and Vinny Curry for the season before Week 1 and linebacker Jarrad Davis only just returned from an ankle injury suffered in training camp. Safety Lamarcus Joyner suffered a season-ending arm injury in Week 1, while linebackers Jamien Sherwood, Hamsah Nasirildeen and Blake Cashman missed multiple games. The team also lost C.J. Mosley for a game. Now the Jets will be without safety Marcus Maye for the rest of the year after he suffered a torn Achilles against the Colts.

All of these injuries have forced the Jets to shuffle different players throughout the lineup. The team’s depth has been tested and practice squad call-ups and emergency free agents have been required. That lack of continuity hurts the cohesiveness of the defense and has likely contributed to the poor play.

Run defense

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The Jets have allowed at least 100 rushing yards in all but one game this season. They let the Colts run rampant for 260 yards in Week 9.

The Jets have allowed 133.3 yards per game and 4.6 yards per rush. Both are among the highest figures in the league. The defensive line isn’t stopping the running backs at the line of scrimmage and linebackers haven’t been able to contain them in the middle of the field. Once opponents establish the run, they’re able to pick the Jets apart through the air.

Poor secondary

(Christine Tannous-IndyStar)

Despite solid play by the Jets’ young cornerbacks early this season, the secondary is one of the worst in the NFL. New York allows the sixth-most passing yards per game (274.9), the fourth-highest completion percentage (68.7%) and the fourth-highest quarterback rating (106.1). The cornerbacks and safeties haven’t tallied an interception yet, either. Whether the secondary issues are schematic-based or because of personnel, the Jets’ inability to stop the pass remains an issue.

Lack of a pass rush

(Winslow Townson-AP Images for Panini)

The Jets’ highly-touted defensive line hasn’t been pressuring the quarterback enough recently. Though the Jets rank 13th in sacks with 18, they rank 22nd in pressure rate and hurry opposing quarterbacks on less than 10 percent of their dropbacks.

That inability to disrupt the pass has allowed offenses enough time to exploit the Jets’ inexperienced linebackers and cornerbacks.

Giving up too many points

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It would be one thing if the Jets allowed a lot of yards without conceding many points, but that’s not the case here. The Jets average the most points allowed per game this season with 31.4, including 45 points in Week 9 and 54 in Week 7.

The only week the Jets didn’t allow at least 20 points came in Week 1 when they allowed 19. New York has also given up the second-most touchdowns this season (28) and the most red-zone touchdowns (22).

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