Despite holding the Patriots to one touchdown, Jets captain C.J. Mosley thought the unit left plays on the table, specifically on third down. One week after the Cowboys converted 50% on third down, New England converted 8 of 19 (42%) including 6 of 10 in the first half.
"We are playing really good ball on first and second down and getting in good situations on third down, but teams are still finding their way around to get those big third downs," Mosley said. "Some of those conversions result in them flipping the field now. Maybe they don't get a touchdown or field goal but that's still good field position for them. We want to just keep them on their side and back them up. And now we've just got to play our part as a defense."
Sunday, the Jets defense held QB Mac Jones to 15-for-29 passing and 201 yards through the air but did not register a takeaway for the second consecutive game after forcing 4 against the Bills in Week 1.
Late in the first quarter, Mosley tipped a pass from Jones and almost came down with an interception. In the second quarter, DL Quinnen Williams tipped a screen pass intended for RB Rhamondre Stevenson and Michael Carter II nearly came up with the interception that would've likely resulted in a pick-6.
"We want to get takeaways," Mosley said. "If you get a takeaway with us up 14-15 points that makes it better. If we don't have points on the board and we get a takeaway, it's all the same, it's great. But our main thing is to always get the ball."
He added: "Once you sit down and watch why things really happened or how could it happen, you realize you're just one step away or one direction away or one second away from looking at the right thing and being at the right spot to do more."
The Jets defense, which finished No. 4 in the NFL last season, holds itself to a high standard. With the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs coming to town fresh off a 41-10 win over the Bears, and the Jets offense that hasn't found its footing yet, CB D.J. Reed said the margin for error is small.
"We make the margin small just with our standards even if we had 'A.R.' (Aaron Rodgers) at quarterback or whoever at quarterback," he said. "Obviously we want to play complementary football, but when we are on the field, the defense is more focused on this is our opportunity to ball. Our standard is to get the ball back to the offense, to get turnovers, to make splash plays, to impact the game positively."
Early Impressions of MVP Patrick Mahomes
Looking ahead, the Jets will host the Chiefs and reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes at MetLife Stadium on Sunday Night Football. The Chiefs have started their title defense 2-1 and Mahomes has thrown for 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and 803 yards.
While at Kansas State, Reed played Mahomes and Texas Tech in 2016. Reed's Wildcats got the win, 44-38, and he picked off Mahomes and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
"Just from watching the tape back then I knew he was going to be special," Reed said. "He is a generational quarterback with his off-rhythm throws. He could throw the ball anywhere and he's very accurate. His deep ball is very accurate and he's just a gamer."
While a member of the 49ers, Reed sparred with Mahomes twice. In 2018, Reed's 49ers lost 38-27 and the defensive back registered 3 tackles. A little over one year later, San Francisco fell to Mahomes and Kansas City in Super Bowl LIV, 31-20. Reed developed a newfound appreciation for the two-time Super Bowl champion over the summer after watching Netflix's series "Quarterback."
"I watched it and got a whole new respect for him because he's not just talented, but he puts the work in on and off the field," he said. "It was really cool to see. And then you have Andy Reid, who's one of the best play callers if not the best, and you just see how well they work together. It definitely brings challenges."
While with the Ravens, Mosley played against Mahomes in 2018, a 27-24 loss, and came away with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 1 QB hit.
"It's been a while for me," Mosley said. "It was my first time. But anybody knows that they have a great offense and a talented coach. They're going to execute at a high level. So that just tells us is we got to do it better than they do it no matter the situation, no matter the score."
