Just think if wide receivers were routinely recognized for not only the receptions they make but also the penalties they cause.
Case in point: If Jets WR Breshad Perriman got the catch instead of the flag on the 42-yard penalty he caused the Patriots' Jason McCourty to commit late in the second quarter on MNF, his receiving line would have read six catches for 143 yards and two TDs. Not bad at all.
"It helps my confidence tremendously," Perriman told Ethan Greenberg on Jets Overtime about his overall play against New England. "There were some plays out there I felt I could've made as well, so I'm just looking forward to getting better from my corrections and building off this performance right here."
Penalties are those hidden yards, as Bill Parcells used to say, so they don't show up in receivers' stats. But they still say a lot about all that Perriman can bring to the Jets offense in the final seven games. The yardage is the longest for a single penalty committed by an opponent against a Jets receiver since 2015 and is tied for the 13th-longest penalty committed by a opponent against the Jets since they became the Jets in 1963.
One more reason this is important is it's not a one-off. That penalty was the fourth PI drawn by BP already this season. The most pass interference calls generated by a Jet since 2000 were the seven drawn by Brandon Marshall in 2016 (not his monster receiving season of 2015!), followed by six caused by Santana Moss in '04 and Santonio Holmes in '11.
Here are the longest penalties, all pass interferences, of course, by opponents against the Jets since '63:
| Year, Game | Opp | Opp Defender | Jets Receiver | Pen Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963, Gm 5 | @SD | ??? | Don Maynard | 54 |
| 1992, Gm 11 | @NE | Dion Lambert | Chris Burkett | 50 |
| 2009, Gm 5 | @MIA | Will Allen | Braylon Edwards | 49 |
| 1992, Gm 14 | vs IND | Mike Prior | Terance Mathis | 47 |
| 1999, Gm 12 | @NYG | Jeremy Lincoln | Dedric Ward | 47 |
The play-by-play of the '63 game doesn't identify the Chargers culprit who grabbed Maynard on that 54-yard long ball from QB Dick Wood. But perhaps it's a good omen that Perriman, one game after he drew the longest penalty against a Jets receiver at home since 1992, will travel to the West Coast and try to coerce the 'Bolts DBs into giving up similar yardage, either by catches or by yellow flags. He'll take either.
Foley into the Fray
Steve McLendon was traded and Quinnen Williams sat out New England with his hamstring injury. Those are two stout defensive linemen were gone from the Jets' front line in recent weeks.
So Folorunso Fatukasi stepped up with his biggest game as a pro.
Foley's biggest play was his blowup of the fourth-and-1 play the Patriots tried to convert from the Jets 39 in the second quarter. Fatukasi met RB James White head-on for a 4-yard loss, plus a forced fumble that, while recovered by the Pats, still turned the ball over to the Jets on downs.
Fatukasi had 2.5 tackles for loss/no gain in the game, which match his career high at Jacksonville last year. And his 7.0 tackles at or behind the line already equal last year's season total of 7.0. In this season's "standings," Foley trails only Henry Anderson (8.0) and Williams (7.5) for the team TFLNG lead.
Finally, his seven tackles vs. the Pats are his career high. All good signs for when he teams up again wtih Williams, possibly to face the Chargers' eighth-ranked rushing offense.
