"You can't keep a team like that to nothing," LB Calvin Pace said of playing the Saints, but the Jets defense found a way to limit the damage and held New Orleans to its second-lowest point total of the season.
The key to the victory, according to LB Quinton Coples? Giving the offense different looks and getting penetration on their O-line to get after QB Drew Brees.
And, while the box score shows just two sacks for the Green & White, anyone who watched the game can attest that our D-line was providing pressure from start to finish.
Brees may have thrown for 382 yards, including four plays of 25 yards or more through the air and two plays of 50-plus yards, but our D-line brought the heat, our linebackers held their run game to a meager 41 yards on 13 carries, and our secondary did their part in creating two turnovers en route to our 26-20 victory.
Facing the league's worst run defense as far as yards per carry, "We knew that there were plays to be had in the running game," WR David Nelson said.
So we released the beast that is Chris Ivory, and he responded with one of the best games of his career, punishing his former team with 139 yards and a touchdown.
"Every time he's getting the keys to the car he's driven it right through defenses," G Willie Colon said, "so I'm proud of him."
Ivory's efforts have earned him his second FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week nomination honors in the last three weeks.
Fans can vote for him here.
