A Look Inside the Numbers as Jets Season Hits Midway Point

With the Jets on their bye week, we thought we’d take a little extra time to scroll through the numbers at sites like PFN, PFF and NFL.com to see what interesting statistical nuggets we could unearth for you.  Here’s what we came up with.

• Only one NFL cornerback this season has played over 200 coverage snaps while allowing 10 or fewer completions while holding opposing QB’s under 50% completion percentage.  That is, of course, Sauce Gardner.  And while his inability to come up with an interception might be frustrating, it’s worth noting that not one single NFL cornerback has in interception while seeing fewer than 24 targets this year. Gardner has seen 22.

• Despite being the Jets best receiving option outside of Garrett Wilson, running back Breece Hall has seen four targets or less in five of eight games.  In the Jets loss to Denver’s very aggressive defensive front, he didn’t see a single pass come his way.
• In a pass happy league, the Jets have yet to have a single game in which their quarterback has thrown for 250 yards.  Justin Fields did come within two yards of that last week when the offense threw for 248.
• Perhaps the most shocking stat for the Jets this season is how little Justin Fields has used his legs.  Viewed as a legitimate big play threat on the ground, Fields has been kept in check for much of the season, averaging just 27 yards over the past four contests.
• Defensive tackle Jowon Briggs has been one of the team’s best acquisitions.  We’ve felt like he’s looked impressive on film all year, and the numbers at PFF support that.  His overall grade of 73.7 is good for third-best on the team among the regulars.
• Brandon Stephen’s has bounced back shockingly well.  Since getting beat for sixty yards and a pair of touchdowns in week 1, Stephens has allowed an average of just 22 yards per game while surrendering 1 TD through the air.
• The Jets remain the NFL’s lone team without an interception while logging just 11 sacks.  Not what was expected with Aaron Glenn coming on board in looking at what his teams had done in the past.
• For all the bad we’ve seen on defense, it’s surprising to learn the Jets are ranked 10th in the NFL in completion percentage allowed at 63.6%.
• With 242 yards receiving already this season, Mason Taylor has a chance to become the first Jets rookie tight end to go over the 500 yard mark since Chris Herndon did it in 2018.
• Defensive back Isaiah Oliver has been less than stellar in coverage this season, having been targeted on 10 passes, allowing completions on nine of them.
• The two touchdowns he has allowed through the air this season are a career high for Sauce Gardner.  Prior to this year, he’d never allowed more than one.
• Quinnen Williams leads all NFL interior defensive linemen with 25 defensive stops, according to PFF.  His 90.3 grade against the run is also good enough for first in the league.
• Olu Fashanu has pitched two shutouts this season.  He didn’t’ allow a single QB pressure in either week 1 vs the Steelers or week 8 against the Bengals.