The Jets were clinging to a tenuous nine-point lead on the high-powered Saints, and they were trying to bleed away the fourth quarter to preserve an upset victory when a defensive play had to be made.
The Saints, with quarterback Drew Brees and an offense capable of scoring a lot of points in a little time, had a fourth-and-1 from the Jets 36-yard line and a play had to be made.
It came from maligned linebacker Quinton Coples, the 2012 first-round draft pick who the Jets have been waiting patiently to fulfill his potential.
The Saints dialed up a curious end-around play for their lumbering 6-foot-5, 229-pound rookie tight end Josh Hill and Coples, who did not bite on a fake, was there to stuff Hill for an 8-yard loss to give the Jets the ball back with 7:49 remaining in their 26-20 win at MetLife Stadium.
“I was thinking [Brees] was going to pull it down and throw the ball and when he handed it off my eyes got big, because I knew I was going to run right into him,’’ Coples said.
“Just a great play,’’ Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “We’re always on him because he has all the ability in the world. When you see the play, the vision he had on the play, to pick up on the reverse coming around. … It was a huge play. That’s a turnover on downs. I’m just proud of the play he made down there.’’
Coples, who was slowed by an ankle injury earlier this season and has struggled to be the impact player he has been expected to become, had his best game as a pro, with three quarterback hurries, a batted pass and that huge tackle on fourth down, called it “one of my best games.’’
“ ‘Q’ has the ability to be dominant; it’s just up to him,’’ linebacker Calvin Pace said.
“He definitely had a breakout game. We expect that from him every week,’’ defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson said. “We know what type of player ‘Q’ is. He’s going to keep getting better.’’
The fourth-down stop was Coples at his best.
“It was fourth down, everyone was playing power left and ‘Q’ did his job as the back-side cut-back guy,’’ Jets linebacker David Harris said. “He didn’t get fooled. He stayed at home and had a huge stop for us. That was huge for us. He had a great game.’’
Fittingly, it was Coples’ fourth-and-19 pressure on Brees that ended the Saints’ final, desperate offensive possession with 1:21 remaining.
“He’s finally hitting his groove,’’ rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “First you have to shake the rust off and then you get something called your groove.’’
The Jets now hope Coples stays in that groove.