Highlighting the positives: Which New York Jets players impressed PFF in Week 8?

The New York Jets continued to defy the odds this season with a come from behind victory against the New York Giants despite the Giants holding a 98% chance of victory late in the game.

While the Jets won the game, it was far from a dominant performance. A few Jets still shone, however, and earned some strong grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Wide Receiver Garrett Wilson

• Overall grade: 74.0 (57 snaps)
• Receiving grade: 74.9 (44 snaps)
• Running grade: 56.6 (1 snap)
• Run blocking grade: 55.9 (12 snaps)

Another week, another strong performance from Garrett Wilson, who led the offense with a 74.0 grade. However, this performance was a bit uneven from Wilson, who was less than stellar in the running game. It’s obviously preferable when a wide receiver is better in the passing game, but it would be nice for Wilson to turn out better performances in the running game than he did last Sunday.

Linebacker Quincy Williams

• Overall grade: 89.4 (73 snaps)
• Run defense grade: 78.9 (48 snaps)
• Tackling grade: 58.2 snaps
• Pass rushing grade: 66.4 (3 snaps)
• Coverage grade: 91.2 (22 snaps)

I truly don’t know that I’ve ever seen a player on the New York Jets make the kind of leap that Quincy Williams has made this season. The guy churned out another week of elite play. At this point the All-Pro Team seems well within reach this season for the older of the two Williams brothers.

Interior Lineman Quinnen Williams

• Overall grade: 88.6 (58 snaps)
• Run defense grade: 84.3 (35 snaps)
• Tackling grade: 72.4
• Pass rush grade: 61.4 (23 snaps)

Oh look, another week, another Williams brother who PFF thinks highly of. Has there ever been a better duo of brothers on one defense? While Quinnen could’ve performed a bit better in the passing game this week, I struggle to criticize the pass rushing performance of anyone given how run heavy the Giants were in this one.

Edge Rusher Jermaine Johnson

• Overall grade: 87.3 (55 snaps)
• Rush defense grade: 69.8 (36 snaps)
• Tackling grade: 59.1
• Pass rushing grade: 91.6 (17 snaps)
• Coverage grade: 60.7 (2 snaps)

Jermaine Johnson may be blossoming into a plus edge rusher right before our very eyes. If Johnson’s ascent continues then their defense would have franchise players locked down for several seasons at interior defensive line (Quinnen Williams), edge rusher (Jermaine Johnson), linebacker (Quincy Williams), and cornerback (Sauce Gardner), setting the team up for sustained success. Fingers crossed this level of performance carries over into the weeks that follow.

Punter Thomas Morstead

• Punting grade: 61.4

I’m breaking my own rules this week and highlighting Morstead even though the PFF grades weren’t kind to him. While PFF graded him poorly, the Jets simply don’t win this game without this week’s AFC Special Teams player of the week who was essential in the Jets winning the field position battle in a game that was determined by it in so many ways.