The NY Jets pulled off a much-needed 21-13 win on Thursday night over the Houston Texans to snap their tumultuous five-game losing streak. While New York's chances of making the playoffs remain slim, Thursday provided some hope that this game could be a turning point in the season.
One of the biggest factors in Gang Green's victory against C.J. Stroud and the Texans was the relentless pass rush that New York was getting all night.
So far this season, the Jets' pass rush has been mostly underwhelming, with a few outbreaks but not enough. However, last night was by far New York's most dominant performance of the season thus far.
As a unit, the Jets registered 32 total pressures, eleven QB hits, and eight sacks on C.J. Stroud. To put it simply, they made his life miserable for the second straight year.
A lot of key players got involved in the sack party, but arguably, the biggest performance of the night came from Quinnen Williams. For Williams, last night was just more evidence that he has found his groove after a slow start to the season.
Quinnen Williams is back to his dominant ways for the NY Jets
Through the first five games of the season, Quinnen Williams was not his usual dominant self. The star pass rusher only registered one sack, one tackle for loss, and five QB hits, with three of those coming in one game against the Patriots, which was one of his lone standout performances. Since this early season slow start, Williams has turned back into his normal self.
Over the last four games, the 26-year-old has tallied four sacks, 21 pressures, eight QB hits, and three tackles for loss. On top of this, last night, Williams had eight pressures, four QB hits, 1.5 sacks, and posted an 81.0 Pro Football Focus Grade.
After facing early season criticism, Williams is back to dominating and wrecking games for opposing offenses. He now finds himself with 22 total tackles, five sacks, 13 QB hits, and four tackles for loss through nine games this year.
Last night not only provided a sign of hope for Jets fans on offense, but it also provided hope for this team from a pass-rushing perspective.
With Quinnen Williams taking over games again, Haason Reddick finally in the fold and playing well, and Will McDonald amid a massive year two leap, it feels like the defensive line is finally rounding into form, showing signs of what the Jets were able to do in 2022 and 2023.
