Aaron Glenn didn’t have much of a satisfying answer after the Jets came out of Foxborough with another loss and another quiet day from a pass rush that had just looked dominant a week earlier.
New York’s 26-19 defeat to the Patriots in Week 6 should have been a spot where the Jets could tilt the game with pressure. Instead, they never once got to the quarterback, even as New England’s offensive line kept losing bodies during the afternoon. That made the final result sting even more for a team that had a real chance to swing momentum.
The Patriots’ line started to unravel when right tackle Morgan Moses left in the first half with an ankle injury. Later, another former Jet, Alijah Vera-Tucker, was ruled out with a hamstring issue.
New England also lost guard Ben Brown, who exited with a knee ailment. On paper, that should have opened the door for New York’s front to take over.
It didn’t happen.
Asked after the game how the Jets failed to record a sack against a patched-together line, Glenn gave a blunt assessment of what he saw.
"It's tough to explain, to be honest with you. Because I have all the confidence in the world in our front and being able to cause havoc.
And I give them (Patriots) credit. They did a good job of chipping, thumping...to our edge guys, and that was their deal.
We just gotta do a better job of now getting some interior pressure."
That last part is where the issue starts to get into focus. The Jets have edge rushers who can threaten quarterbacks - David Bailey and Will McDonald IV are both capable of getting after the passer - but those guys can be neutralized if the middle of the pocket doesn’t move. Glenn’s point was clear: the pressure has to come from inside, too.
And that’s where New York’s current setup looks thin. The Jets do have defensive linemen who can help against the run, but that’s a different job than collapsing the pocket. Harrison Phillips, T’Vondre Sweat, and Jowon Briggs are not the kind of interior players who are typically expected to produce heavy pass-rush damage.
That leaves Glenn and his defensive staff with a larger problem than one bad Sunday. The lack of interior push isn’t something that gets fixed in a hurry, and the Jets are going to have to find new ways to get opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.
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