Brandon Moore knows the Jets would have lost yesterday without their defensive performance.
“They were great,” Moore said. “We wouldn’t have won that game if they hadn’t played the way they did.”
Indeed, the Jets defense was a monster in yesterday’s almost-unwatchable 7-6 win over the inept Cardinals, demolishing the Arizona offense. The Cardinals unit was a disaster, as the Jets held their overall production to two field goals, limited their running backs to 41 yards on 20 carries and allowed rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley just 72 yards passing while intercepting him once.
Lindley was 10-for-31 for the game. He hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 23-yard gain on the afternoon’s second play, and threw for a total of 49 yards the rest of the game.
The Jets also stopped the Cardinals on all 15 of their third-down attempts, preventing a team from converting a third down for the first time since Sept. 25 of last season against the Raiders (0-for-8).
“I would have to say it’s probably our best defensive game of the year,” safety Yeremiah Bell said.
While the Jets defense lost star Darrelle Revis to a torn ACL in Week 3, the unit has still been a disappointment this year.
Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s group entered yesterday ranked 19th in total defense in the NFL, which isn’t close to coach Rex Ryan’s preseason claim the group would finish in the league’s top five.
During the week, Ryan said: “I’m not willing to concede anything … maybe we can have some of those great games.”
And yesterday the Cardinals managed just 137 total yards.
“That was huge,” defensive end Mike DeVito said. “That was so important to bounce back and put that Jets defense back out there.”
Added cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who helped hold Fitzgerald to the one catch: “I think the biggest thing that helped us out was the communication throughout the week, making sure … that we did the things that we needed to do defensively, Making sure that we did the things that we needed to do defensively to make sure every guy was in the right spot to communicate well and go out and just play football the best way we know how.” to make sure every guy was in the right spot to communicate well and go out and just play football the best way we know how.”