'What is he doing?' Robert Saleh screamed. C.J. Mosley was making the right call.

C.J. Mosley did something he wasn’t supposed to do on Sunday, and Robert Saleh is extremely glad he did.

Mosley checked out of a defensive call, and Saleh said he never had a linebacker do that in his system before. But Mosley saw something on a third down in the second half against Tennessee, got really demonstrative and changed the call.

Saleh said he and other defensive coaches were screaming "What is he doing?" and directing it at linebackers coach Mike Rutenberger. But Mosley made the right call. The Jets sacked Ryan Tannehill.

"It shows he’s like a cheat code," Saleh said Monday during a Zoom call. "His mind plays at a different level. He’s playing a different game. He knew exactly what we needed to get into and he made the right call."

Mosley, 29, is the unquestioned leader of a defense that is playing better than most expected. He also looks like the player he was when the Jets gave him a five-year, $85 million contract in 2019.

A four-time Pro Bowler with the Ravens, Mosley played only two games in 2019 because of injury and opted out of last season because of COVID-19. But he is leaner, quicker and back to being a dominant player.

Mosley led the NFL with 13 combined tackles and one sack in Sunday’s overtime win over the Titans while playing all 100 defensive snaps. He showed he’s still an elite playmaker — and a pretty good play-caller.

"He got us into the perfect play call and got a sack because the quarterback hitched," Saleh said. "I was like, ‘That’s why he’s an All-Pro. Good job, C.J.’ He was pumped and proud of that moment. He studies a lot of tape and he knew exactly what we needed to be in. He fixed the call and we got off the field on third down.

"He made an executive decision. I’m glad he did."

Saleh isn’t ready to give Mosley the freedom to check out of a call whenever he wants, saying there’s "a rhyme or reason" for his calls. He’s proved to be an elite defensive play-caller himself.

The Jets’ defense rang up a season-high seven sacks against the Titans, albeit one of them with an assist from Mosley.

"He got a taste a little bit of what coaching is," Saleh said. "He made a check. It worked. You’re a genius. If it wouldn’t have worked, we wouldn’t be talking about this.

I wouldn’t tell you guys about it. It would have been one of those ‘Hey, dude, you can’t do that.’ But it worked."

Saleh has his fingerprints all over the defense, but coordinator Jeff Ulbrich deserves credit for how the group is playing.

It’s a young defense that lost edge rusher Carl Lawson for the season in August and is playing without starting linebacker Jarrad Davis and safeties Marcus Maye and LaMarcus Joyner.

The Jets surprisingly are tied for fourth in the NFL with 13 sacks. Mosley’s presence and influence is a big reason.

"C.J. is the leader of the defense," second-year cornerback Javelin Guidry said. "He’s smart, intellectual. He makes sure everyone’s right and every time is trying to get the ball out. He’s just a great ballplayer. I’m grateful to have him on our defense."

The Jets’ first win of the season also was Mosley’s first in a Jets uniform. They were 0-5 in games he played before Sunday.

Mosley said he wasn’t thinking about himself but everyone else in the locker room.

"I was happy this team got this win," he said. "I was happy Coach Saleh got the win. I was happy Coach Rutey got the win, his first win as a linebacker coach. It’s about all of us in the locker room. We’re all we got and we’re all we need."

Making Mosley’s performance even more impressive is that he’s playing a different role in a different system in Saleh’s 4-3 scheme. He has three straight games of at least 10 tackles.

"You guys know my infatuation for the man," Saleh said. "I think he’s phenomenal."