Three sets of statistical trends, records, marks and highlights by the Jets following their 34-10 loss to the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday:
For AZ Thomas, 6 Is Good
Azareye'h Thomas surprised the CBS crew during the second quarter when, as they were reporting the third-round rookie CB was questionable to return to the game from a shoulder injury, he was jogging onto the field and back to his position in the defense. He missed just 6 of the defense's 65 snaps.
Besides durability, Thomas continued to show PD-ability, the knack of breaking up passes. In preventing a completion to TE Darren Waller to help set up the Jets' lone TD of the game, he extended his pass defense streak also to 6, the number of consecutive games he has played in and recorded a PD. (He was sidelined with an injury for the New England game.)
That is the longest current pass defense streak among NFL rookies, and it is tied with Darrelle Revis for the second-longest streak by a Jets rookie since 2000. The longest was Sauce Gardner's 7 straight games to open his 2022 rookie campaign.
As for the longest streak by any Jet, rookie or vet, again since 2000, that's held by a certain Jets head coach. Aaron Glenn posted 8 consecutive games with at least one PD in his 2000 season in green and white. Revis also had a 7-game streak in '09, which Thomas would match with a pass breakup at Jacksonville.
'Tis the Season for Special Returns
One more number related to Isaiah Williams' remarkable returning: His second punt-return touchdown of the season vs. Miami along with Kene Nwangwu's kickoff-return TD vs. Cleveland and Will McDonald IV's FG snuff-scoop-and-score at Tampa Bay give the Jets 4 return TDs of all varieties this season.
Check out the top photos from the Jets' Week 14 against the Dolphins.
That total is tied for third-most in the NFL, trailing only New England and Seattle with 5 each. But since the Patriots, Seahawks and Titans (with 4 return TDs) all have defensive scores, the Jets' 4 special teams TDs are the most in the NFL through 14 weeks and have already tied the franchise record for ST TDs in a single season.
Their most ST-only return scores of 4 was reached before this season by the 1997, 2002 and '07 teams. So one more special teams return in '25 would break the Jets' franchise single-season mark.
Expert Fakers
The Jets' third-quarter fake punt didn't start pretty but it ended effectively. On fourth-and-8 from their 25, upback Malachi Moore received Thomas Hennessy's modified long snap, took off to the right of the formation, then lateraled back to Isaiah Davis, who had to short-hop the pitch before striding 19 yards for the first down. It was the Jets' longest rushing play of the afternoon.
The Jets and ST coordinator Chris Banjo are 2 of 2 on fake kicks this season, with Davis' run coming almost two months after Breece Hall's 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the Jets 37 vs. Denver in London. From the start of the 2021 season, the Jets have run 8 fake punts and converted 7, an 87.5% success rate that is second in the NFL over that span.
Going back even further, to 2014, the Green & White are 10 of 12 on fakes, and that includes an unsuccessful fake FG run by holder Braden Mann in '21. Converting 10 of 11 fake punts in the past 12 seasons is a nice extended run of special teams trickeration.
