Harrison Phillips at his media sessions has the bearing of a widebody Stanford professor about to begin class — not as far-fetched a post-football career as it may sound since Phillips was a four-year Cardinal before being selected in the third round of the 2018 draft by the Bills.

So it seems fitting that the Jets D-lineman, who made his Green & White debut against the Steelers on Sunday, began his lecture this week about the Jets' next opponent and his first NFL team, and in particular about a draft classmate from the other side of the ball.

"It's always fun to go against one of my good friends from my time in Buffalo in Josh Allen, so I'm excited for that," Phillips said, adding that the QB's rise to NFL MVP status last season wasn't shocking to him.

"I saw his work ethic from OTA day one," he said. "I could see it from early on that he's a competitor, he is chronically competitive at everything. I don't know if I've ever beat him at anything — even calling 'shotgun' to a car."

Phillips, who spent his first four NFL seasons as a Bill and his most recent three as a Viking, is eloquently eager to show that he's up for Sunday's competition as the Jets defense works to rebound from yielding 34 points to the Steelers.

"I hope that was my worst game of the year," said the 6-3, 307-pounder, who in an Aug. 21 trade went from being Minnesota's 3-4 nose starter to becoming a Jets 1-technique and, less than three weeks later, their DT starter alongside Quinnen Williams. "As I watched the film, I was getting really frustrated with myself, seeing some of those old habits creeping in. You can still play good football that way, but that's not what this defense calls for.

"My hope is that was the worst version of myself for this team and as each week goes by I'm able to get better and better."

Who are we to disagree with the "Ol' Perfessor", yet maybe Phillips was being too hard on himself. He had the kind of game contribution that showed up better on video than on the play-by-play, where he had just two solo tackles on 34 defensive snaps.

His best showing came while the line was pressuring Aaron Rodgers, whom many Jets defenders finally got to hit and take to the turf after two years of non-contact practice sacks.

■ On his first supporting highlight in the second quarter, Phillips ran a tackle wrap with Williams, who gained leverage and applied his second hit of the game on A-Rod.

■ Later that quarter Will McDonald IV was aided by Phillips pushing the Steelers guard into the pocket, forcing Rodgers to pull the ball down and step up, right into McDonald's grasp for his first sack of the game.

■ In the third period, Phillips may have helped with the pressure again, drawing a double team that allowed McDonald, on the five-man blitz, to beat Pitt LT Broderick Jones cleanly 1-on-1 to the inside for his second sack of Rodgers.

"I was nervous that I was going to miss a play or not know a call," Phillips said. "Thankfully, I was dialed in on the playbook side of things, and I'm also excited to see our rotation with the eight or so different players on the front that I play with, our ability to work off each other.

"Some of those things are maybe not showing up on the stat sheet, but I'm able to make players around me better, and that's something I pride myself in."

Phillips also threw his weight around against the run as Pittsburgh was held to 53 rushing yards, a total that ranks in the Jets' all-time top 10 of fewest rush yards by an opening-day opponent and is the second-fewest rush yards by the Steelers in any game in the teams' 29-game rivalry.

All of Phillips' and the defense's skills will be needed against Harrison's old Buffalo pal who was always won the mad dash to the shotgun seat.

"I never beat him, so it made it more special when I was with Minnesota and we went in and got a victory in Western New York," he said, recalling the Vikings' classic 33-30 OT win in 2022. "That was very special, so I'm excited for the test this weekend."