HOUSTON — This day was surely about Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan and their respective NFL debuts.
But, while assessing the Jets’ 24-7 season-opening victory over the Texans yesterday at Reliant Stadium, don’t forget about the defense, because it set the tone for the entire day.
It was no accident that, when the Jets won the opening coin toss Ryan opted to “defer,” giving the Texans the opening offensive possession of the game.
That was Ryan’s plan all along. Defense was going to set the tone for this game and the season, and so it did, holding the Texans to just 183 total yards on offense, forcing two turnovers and allowing them into Jets’ territory only twice — the deepest penetration being only the 35-yard line.
Oh yes, and the Jets did this without their two best pass rushers — defensive end Shaun Ellis and linebacker Calvin Pace, both suspended.
“We had two defensive starters out and our defense pitched a shutout — against a really good offense at home, where they traditionally play really well,” Jets right tackle Damien Woody said.
The Jets completely neutralized the Texans’ best players. Houston receiver Andre Johnson, who led the NFL with 115 receptions last season, caught four damage-free passes for just 35 yards and was a complete non-factor.
Texans’ running back Steve Slaton, who was second in the AFC in rushing last season, managed only 17 yards on nine carries.
Their quarterback, Matt Schaub (18-of-33, 166 yards, 1 interception) was rattled by the Jets’ pass rush early in the game and his performance deteriorated as it progressed.
“Whenever you’ve got a finesse offense you’ve got to punch them right in the mouth,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to set the tone. I think we hit him the first three plays in the first series. Quarterbacks have that internal clock. You’ve got to get shots on him whether he gets the ball off or not. We call them body blows.
“You get that clock going and he rushes passes and balls land short and guys don’t want to step into the throw. It’s Defense 101.”
Safety Kerry Rhodes said: “We thought we had a nice hold on them as the game went on.”
“The more Schaub got hit the more he kept getting the ball out of there quicker. He’s an accurate guy and his balls weren’t accurate down the stretch because he got hit so much.”
The Jets’ goal coming into the game was to stop the Texans on first down, because last season Houston was one of the most productive offenses on first down.
The Jets held the Texans, who averaged 6.5 yards on first down last season, to an average of 4.0 yards yesterday.
“We dominated them on first down,” Rhodes said. “We knew they were one of the best teams on first down. We were able to get them into long situations, and any offense we get into long situations is going to get bad, because we’ve got so many looks.”