Jets coach is running out of answers after another defensive letdown

The defense was not supposed to be the issue for the New York Jets entering 2025. Despite a questionable quarterback, a horrific receiving corps, and a rookie head coach, the one thing that seemed a certainty was solid defensive football. Through four games, it’s been quite the opposite.

The Jets' defense is bad. That's not to say that they aren’t talented, but it is saying that they are, in fact, bad. It’s not as though one facet on that side of the ball is failing them. In many ways, the entire infrastructure is caving in, and the architect (or assistant architect in this case) seems to have fewer answers than Kanye on Sway in the Morning.

Before we dive into the numbers, I want to emphasize that the defense hasn’t just been bad. They’ve been just about as bad as any defense in football. And based on some metrics, to find this level of incompetence, you have to go back to the early 20th century — no, really.

The Jets' defense under Steve Wilks is about as bad as it gets

The only bright spot (calling it a “bright” spot is generous) has been the run defense. Pro Football Focus has them as the 12th-rated rush defense with a 68.0 grade.

This is largely carried by Quinnen Williams, who has an outstanding 92.3 individual grade, which leads all interior linemen in football. No other defensive lineman on the Jets even cracks a 75.0. 

Aside from a rush defense that is just hardly maintaining its sea legs on a rocky ship, the rest of the defense is already drowning in futility. The numbers you’re about to see aren’t pretty, so viewer discretion is advised.

It is never good to guarantee the other team 20+ points every week. That wouldn’t be my advice, but hey, what do I know? And based on the opponents' drive scoring statistic above, Jets’ opponents literally have better than a 50/50 shot to score every time they touch the ball. That will happen when your pass defense is 30th in EPA per dropback.

It doesn’t help that they aren’t forcing turnovers. They are the only team yet to generate a takeaway. They are also the first team in 90 years to do so while also holding an 0-4 record. I told you that you had to go back to the early 20th century to understand how bad they’ve been.

The pass rush has been non-existent, literally. Not only have they had just six total sacks, but they are also 31st in pressure rate. When you combine that with their NFL lead in missed tackles, I’m shocked they even have any sacks at all.

So yes, it’s been bad — and it’s only been getting worse. The defense looked as bad last week as it has all season. They failed to record any sacks in Week 4. Sauce Gardner has looked lost at times on the outside. Will McDonald can’t stop the run, but Micheal Clemons (who sort of can) is a liability at quite literally everything else.

It’s hard to fully criticize Steve Wilks for all of this. Aaron Glenn is a supposed defensive “mastermind.” It’s unforgivable for a Glenn-led team to perform this poorly defensively. But Wilks hasn’t shown any signs of life either.

I can’t even begin to guess what he could do differently. If he doesn’t do something, though, this defense is going to break records — just not the kind you want.

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