Among the many acquisitions Jets GM Darren Mougey made during the offseason -- free agents, draft picks, trades -- the addition of veteran S Minkah Fitzpatrick (in a trade with Miami) and ironman LB Demario Davis (signed in free agency) have provided the No. 4 defense in the NFL with a strong and experienced backbone.
The 1-0 approach to each game emphasized recently by HC Aaron Glenn is particularly relevant as the Jets embark on their first of two straight games against AFC East rivals -- at New England on Sunday, vs. Miami on Oct. 25). As Glenn and his players know, a huge component of success will spring from the Green & White's 6 intradivision games.
"I think it's hard to not act like divisional games don't mean more, but they're all important," Davis, 37, said. "It's the next one on the calendar, so at this point of the year, you want to continue to get better, and the games become more meaningful as the season goes on. And because it's the next one and it's the division matchup, it's going to take everything that we got. Very important game."
Davis, who is well on his way to his 10th straight season with 100-plus tackles (he is currently No. 2 on team with 36 total tackles), is one of the captains on defense and is the smart and aggressive beating heart of the unit in his 15th NFL season (8 with New Orleans in the NFC South) and third tour with the Jets.
In addition to trailing only S Dane Belton (39) in total tackles, Davis has a pair of sacks, 3 TFL and a PD. The Patriots (3-2) come into the Week 6 game with a balanced attack on offense and a passing game, led by QB Drake Maye, that has come to life in two straight victories after a 1-2 start. Maye is averaging 245.2 passing yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INT, and the Pats are scoring 22 points a game.
"Number one, it's hard to defend deep passes when your team is able to run the ball effectively," Davis said about a ground attack that is averaging 127.2 yards a game. "I think they do a good job with their run game and their play action game. Second, you have a quarterback with the arm talent that can throw the ball down the field. You can see he makes long passes even if he's off his back foot."
After his two-plus seasons with the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick, 35, is no stranger to the long-standing rivalries among the teams in the AFC East. And while it's his first season in green and white, Fitzpatrick is certain of one thing about New England.
"They take a lot of deep shots," said Fitzpatrick, who returned to action against the Bears after missing a pair of games and has 1 INT and 21 tackles.
In Weeks 1-3, Maye struggled and was 9 of 23 (39%) on throws of 15-plus yards. He's rebounded in the past two games by going 11 of 18 (61%) on deep balls with 3 TDs and zero picks, according to CBS Sports. In last week's rout of Las Vegas, he notched a 99.9% deep passing grade from PFF with a pair of TD passes.
For their part, the Jets' defense has been adept at limiting opponents' explosive plays led by a ferocious pass rush last week that logged 8 sacks against Cleveland as they blitzed 22 times on 44 dropbacks and came up with 4 sacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Overall, the Jets go into Sunday's game as the No. 4 overall defense (293 yards per game) and No. 2 in yards allowed per play (4.62). Three of the first five opponents were held to fewer than 200 total yards.
"It's a multi-headed monster that you have to stop," Fitzpatrick said. He added: "If I'm in coverage, usually the quarterback isn't my primary job, or when he scrambles, it's not my primary job. My primary job is coverage. If I'm a deep safety, it's staying deep as the deepest. If I'm an underneath guy, it's finding a guy within my zone and making sure I'm covering him. So, it's more so just finding guys within your zone and getting sticky on them."
