Rex Ryan’s defenses have always been built on stopping the run. That’s what makes the way the 49ers became the latest team to dominate the Jets at the line of scrimmage in yesterday’s 34-0 rout over Gang Green at MetLife Stadium so troubling for the Jets moving forward.
San Francisco ran the ball 44 times for 245 yards — the most rushing yards the Jets have allowed in a game since Ryan took over as head coach — and three touchdowns.
“I’ve never given up so many rushing yards in my life,” Ryan said.
“I can tell you this: It was certainly about execution. They out-executed us. Our guys are tough and have plenty of heart. We just never executed. We didn’t get off blocks well enough. We didn’t tackle well enough. We have to look at it from a schematics standpoint and determine if we’re putting our players in the best position to be successful. I don’t know that answer right now.”
San Francisco’s performance on the ground wasn’t the first time the Jets have seen their run defense get gashed this season. Gang Green is now giving up an average of over 170 yards per game and an average of 4.9 yards per carry, both of which rank among the worst in the NFL.
It won’t get any easier for the Jets next week, who are set to face Houston on Monday night and arguably the league’s best rushing attack of running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate.
“It’s frustrating, and something we have to get better at,” defensive end Mike DeVito said.
“We have to go back and see what’s happening as a front eight, and sit down and look at the cut-ups from the first four games and see what we’re doing wrong.”
One small positive from yesterday’s defensive performance was the Jets managed to do well against the 49ers passing game in Gang Green’s first game without all-world corner Darrelle Revis. San Francisco’s quarterbacks, Alex Smith and backup Colin Kaepernick, combined to go 12-for-22 for 143 yards.
“I think we did pretty good [against the pass,]” cornerback Antonio Cromartie said. “We still got beat on a couple throws down the field, but we’ve just got to make sure we learn from that and continue to play and make sure that we’re communicating in the way we need to communicate.
“I think the communication was very good today. I think we had one or two miscues with the ball down the field, but we just got to keep building from there and keep working hard. That’s all we can do.”