The Jets' defense bent Sunday in Chicago, but they never broke in a 23-12 loss to the Bears. While the Bears moved the ball and controlled the clock, the Jets limited the Bears to 2-of-7 on their red zone trips.
"When you have an offense like that, which you know they're going to move the ball, the thing about defense is all about limiting points and I thought our guys did a really good job of being able to do that when it comes to the red zone," HC Aaron Glenn said on Monday. "That's something that is really a staple of what we want to do."
Here's a look at a couple of Jets' red zone stops from Week 4, plus the first INT of the season.
Goal-Line Stand
On the Bears' opening drive, they ran three plays within the Jets' 5-yard line and didn't score any points. Officials replayed Chicago's second-and fourth-down plays, and ruled RB D'Andre Swift was short of the goal line after each review.
On second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, the Bears had QB Tyson Bagent under center with Swift in the backfield while Jamien Sherwood was lined up across from TE Cole Kmet. When Swift received the handoff, he ran up the middle and S Dane Belton attacked a Kmet block, allowing Sherwood the lane to tackle Swift before he crossed the goal line.
Initially called a TD, the play was reversed because Swift's knee was ruled down inside the 1-yard line.
On third-and-goal, the Bagent threw an incomplete pass to TE Colston Loveland. Bagent faked a handoff to Swift but had to get rid of the ball quickly with DT T'Vondre Sweat applying pressure. Sherwood tracked Loveland, who had lined up on the left side of the Bears' formation and ran to the right along the goal line, to break up the play.
Looking to punch in a score, the Bears put the ball in Swift's hands once more on fourth-and-goal. But Stephens, who sprung free on the left side of Chicago's offensive line, brought him down shy of the end zone.
Third-Down Win
The Bears were limited to a pair of 30-yard field goals before halftime after the Jets prevented them from converting on a pair of third-and-6's.
The first time, Chicago lined up in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs) on the Jets' 16-yard line, and elected to run the ball, handing it to RB D'Andre Swift up the middle. S Minkah Fitzpatrick and rookie edge David Bailey combined to tackle Swift two yards short of the first down.
Later, facing the same down and distance, this time only from the 12-yard line, the Bears only had 6 seconds before halftime and no timeouts, so they were looking for a quick end zone option.
In 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs), Chicago had Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III lined up to the left and Kalif Raymond on the right. With pressure coming in off the edge from David Bailey and Will McDonald IV, Bagent sailed the ball out of the end zone in the direction of Odunze, who was covered by Stephens and Andre Cisco.
First INT of the Season
S Minkah Fitzpatrick, in his first game action back after sustaining a groin injury Week 1 against the Titans, recorded the Jets' first interception of the season.
The Bears were near midfield on their third possession of the game and lined up in 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR) on first-and-10. Fitzpatrick was the deep safety, and he tracked TE Colston Loveland as his route crossed the middle of the field.
The ball was slightly positioned on Loveland's back shoulder, allowing Fitzpatrick the room to step in front and intercept the pass.
"We were in a two-high defense, and I had one receiver to my side, and he was running a vertical and broke inside and I just drove on the ball," Fitzpatrick said of his 22nd career INT.
