2018 New York Jets Coverage Stats: Week 9

Hidden beneath the stench of yet another crushing mid-season Jets loss in South Florida was a dominant performance by the Jets defense across the board. That included a stellar outing in coverage against one of the best YAC-producing offenses in football. The Jets allowed 3.71 net yards per pass attempt (sack yardage included), the fewest they’ve allowed since defeating the Dolphins in London back in 2015.

Let’s take a look at the numbers!

Previous editions: Pre 1, Pre 2, Pre 3, Pre 4, W1-DET, W2-MIA, W3-CLE, W4-JAX, W5-DEN, W6-IND, W7-MIN, W8-CHI

RULES

• The coverage numbers include only legitimate targets into the general area of a receiver/defender; throws in which a defender in coverage was directly involved the outcome. Throwaways and deflections at the line are excluded.
• The stats for each individual are that of the quarterback’s passing numbers when targeting the individual’s matchup. A player could receive coverage credit even if a teammate finished the play. For example, against Denver this season, Morris Claiborne tipped a pass in this direction that ended up being intercepted by Marcus Maye. I credited Claiborne with that interception.
• Penalties and pass breakups counted are only those accumulated in coverage. Penalties/PBUs picked up on blitzes, or penalties tackling another player’s responsibility, are not included. PBUs and INTs in the box score are not exclusive to one another.
• “Burns mitigated by opponent miscue,” or “miscues” (M) are included in charting to attempt to knock defenders who benefited from an egregious error by the offense (drop, horrible throw) and give perspective to the validity of their raw stats. A defender can still register an interception or incompletion to his credit on a miscued play.

First, here’s a look at each targeted player’s total numbers in coverage against Miami.

Next, let’s take a look at the coverage numbers broken down by individual player-vs.-player matchups and man coverage vs. zone coverage.

Some takeaways:

• Yeah, Brock Osweiler is not a terrifying quarterback by any means, but the Jets really played their butts off in coverage in this game. The Dolphins wide receiver group is by no means elite and is devoid of a superstar, but it’s a versatile group. They are one of the best teams in the league at gaining yards after the catch. Just about all Miami could do in this game was dump the ball off because of the Jets’ great downfield coverage from pretty much everybody, and the Jets consistently shut down short passes shy of the sticks. The Dolphins gained only 6 passing first downs in this game, the fewest allowed by the Jets since defeating the 49ers in Santa Clara back in 2016.
• Darron Lee looked great in this game. He was targeted only one time, and deserved that box score distinction. He had some great reps in man coverage and looked aware and alert in zone. Oftentimes, never hearing a player’s name on a pass play is a tremendous thing.
• Jamal Adams was outstanding as well. He batted down two passes on blitzes (not captured in this box score) but also made a great tackle short of the sticks out of a zone and locked up rookie Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki on a deep go route.
• Morris Claiborne gave up a pair of big first downs, getting toasted by Danny Amendola out of the slot and missing a tackle on Kenny Stills, but put in a lot of tight cover reps otherwise.

FILM

This play is a great example of what the Jets did throughout this game. The coverage is stellar across the board, and Osweiler has to throw it away. Lee has Mike Gesicki 1-on-1 outside. Claiborne, in an unusual slot role, sticks to Amendola. Buster Skrine takes away Kenny Stills over the middle. Darryl Roberts and Adams bracket DeVante Parker outside. And Williamson does a perfect job shutting down the wheel route out of the backfield, sitting on the whole way and not biting underneath to allow space.

Jamal Adams’ numbers in the box score continue to look sublime because of exceptional man-to-man reps like this one. This is textbook. Adams completely eliminates Gesicki in this 1-on-1 outside matchup, on the bottom of your screen.

Here are my numbers for the Jets on the season.