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3 Takeaways | Jets Special Teams Have a Bounce Back Game

Green & White Defense Held Bears to 2 of 7 in Red Zone

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The Jets (1-3) fell, 23-12, to the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday. The Green & White will return to MetLife Stadium for their second home game of the season, against the Browns (3-1) in Week 5.

Here's 3 takeaways from Week 4.

Special Teams Impact
On Sunday, the special teams unit had some of the brighter moments of the game for the Jets and an improvement from prior performances. HC Aaron Glenn spoke with the media on Monday morning and while his disappointment is still prevalent, he highlighted the work of the Chris Banjo-led unit.

"I thought our coverage units did a really good job. They showed exactly who we are, who we've been," Glenn said. "We have to continue that trend."

Punter Austin McNamara delivered two of the longest punts of his career. His first of the game was 60 yards, his third-longest and he followed it up with a 59-yarder, his fourth longest. His first punt of 62 yards from the Jets' end zone was nullified by a penalty.

The longest punt of McNamara's career was 72 yards in Week 14 against the Dolphins last season.

In the third quarter, the Jets punted from Chicago's 41-yard line and McNamara fired a 37-yard boot that Malik McClain downed inside the 5. It was McNamara's third punt inside the 5 five this season, the most by a Jet through Week 4, according to Tru Media.

Check out the top photos from the Jets' Week 4 game against the Bears.

Red Zone Defense
The Bears had success moving the ball down field, but the Jets held them to only 2 TDs on their 7 red zone trips.

"When you have an offense like that, when you know that they're going to move the ball, man, the thing about defense is all about limiting points," HC Aaron Glenn said. "I thought our guys did a really good job when it comes to the red zone."

On Chicago's opening drive, the Jets forced a goal-line stand with CB Brandon Stephens preventing RB D'Andre Swift from crossing the goal line on fourth-and-goal when the Bears lined up inches away.

"Our mentality down there is bend, don't break, so that was just an example of that," Stephens said postgame.

The Bears were limited to 3 field goals on other red zone trips, two from 30 yards and one from 21 yards. Chicago ran the ball on two of those third-down situations but were held by the Jets' defense short of the line of gain.

The Clock
Heading into the matchup, the Bears and Jets led the NFL in time of possession, each averaging over 34 minutes with the ball. Chicago only had the ball for 26 seconds more than the Green & White on average.

"We were highly aware of that," Bears HC Ben Johnson said. "We knew it could be one of those games where both teams have minimal possessions, and he want to maximize all that."

And the Bears controlled the clock. The Jets only had the ball for 17:15 and struggled to generate momentum and keep the offense on the field.

"For your defense to go out there and have nearly 90 plays and I think the offense had 32 plays, right there it's tough to get something going in that situation," HC Aaron Glenn said. "When you have that discrepancy of 89 plays and 32 plays, it's something we have to look at and something we have to continue to work on."

The Jets have sustained long drives before including the 19-play drive in Week 1 against the Titans, but the Bears prevented them from converting on any third-down attempts (0 of 7).

"We all have to muster up something inside to be able to get this thing turned in the right direction when we have a game like this," Glenn said. "That's something we really need to address moving forward."

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