The New York Jets defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-17 to even their record at 1-1 on the young season. While Aaron Rodgers led the charge, Braelon Allen scored two touchdowns including the eventual game-winner, and Will McDonald recorded three sacks. There are others whose contributions may have been overlooked but were still instrumental in securing the victory for Gang Green.
Jamien Sherwood steps up to fill some big shoes for the Jets’ defense
Jamien Sherwood, a fifth-round pick out of Auburn in 2021, has been a designated “starter” since the beginning of last season. While the converted safety is nominally a starting linebacker in Robert Saleh’s 4-3 defense, his role as the third linebacker means he’s essentially a depth player with nickel personnel most commonly deployed. In his “starter” role last season, he logged a measly 194 snaps.
With starting middle linebacker and defensive captain C.J. Mosely leaving early with a foot injury. Sherwood was pressed into extended action. He responded by recording a team-high 12 total tackles, including 8 solo tackles, and a tackle for a loss. He also threw in a pass deflection that may have been an interception had he turned his head around in time.
Watching the game, you could see number 44 flying around always near the ball carrier, and the team’s run defense was noticeably better with him in the game.
Despite a small sample in 2023, Sherwood developed a reputation as a sure-handed tackler. Per Pro Football Focus, in 2023 he posted a minuscule missed tackle rate of 5.7% which is roughly half of the positional average, while also racking up 10 “stops” which are tackles that PFF deems to be a failure for the offense.
While one has to hope that Mosely doesn’t miss an extended period of time, the Jets may have unearthed a hidden gem in Sherwood.
Irvin Charles was a terror on special teams
Special teams is an often overlooked facet of the game, only noticed during the extremes such as return touchdowns and ghastly errors. However, controlling field position is an important aspect of winning football.
While the splash play of blocking a punt may be the most memorable part of Charles’ day, he was a menace in punt coverage with two tackles to stop the returner for no gain. As a gunner, he made his presence felt throughout the day and helped the Jets limit Tennessee’s field position.
This isn’t the first time that Charles has made his impact felt on special teams. Last season, Robert Saleh referred to him as a “wolf” due to his penchant for making big plays as a gunner and while former special teams’ ace Justin Hardee and punter Thomas Morstead have both been very complimentary of Charles’ impact and abilities.
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Nathaniel Hackett rebounds after tough Week 1 outing
We spoke about the Jets’ need to shift their offensive gameplan after week one’s debacle against San Francisco, and while looking at the box score today’s performance won’t jump out as a dominant offensive performance, but positive strides were made.
Early on, it looked as if the run, run, pass, punt strategy of last week was going to continue, and with similar results. In the first quarter, Breece Hall struggled to get going. However, by the second quarter, a clear adjustment was made.
The Jets’ offensive line was having trouble dealing with the Titan’s defensive line early on. T’Vondre Sweat and Jeffrey Simmons were clogging gaps and linebackers Ernest Jones and Kenneth Murray were quick to clean up on running plays. On third and long, pass rushers Harold Landry and Arden Key proved formidable.
As a result, Hackett started passing on early downs, specifically relying on the quick passing game to build rhythm and relying on the incredible Aaron Rodgers to zip balls into tight windows with impeccable timing.
He also switched up personnel groupings. After Hall struggled to get going early on, rookie Braelon Allen began to get some run as both as rusher and receiver, which paid dividends as he contributed both a receiving and rushing touchdown. This allowed Hall to eventually get going, as he ripped off a big 30-yard run once he found his rhythm. Most importantly, Hackett put the pair of running backs on the field at the same time together for a good portion of the game, even splitting both out wide at one point, which caused confusion for the tenacious Tennessee defense.
At other points, he dialed up a deep shot once he saw the defense start to sit on the shorter routes that Rodgers had been feasting on. Again, it was my no means an overly explosive offensive performance, but save for some weird play clock issues (not sure if that’s on Hackett, Rodgers, or Saleh) it was nice to see adjustments being made and it was enough to take home a win.
It will be interesting to see how these unsung heroes perform on a short week against their archrival, the New England Patriots, on Thursday night.
