Jets Q&A: For once they played to win, not to lose, and it worked out in the end
Jets strong safety Jamal Adams celebrates after defeating the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Lee S. Weissman/Lee S. Weissman
How did the Jets finally finish a game?
They didn’t panic with the game on the line. They played to win rather than not to lose. It was a positive step because so many times this team, in recent years and in Week 1, crumbled after building a lead.
They were up 21-3 in this game and needed a huge stop on a two-point conversion to close out this win, and they got it when Jamal Adams blitzed Dak Prescott and forced him to throw it quick and it fell incomplete.
“Everybody was just calm,” Adams said, “and it was really a beautiful sight to see because usually we kind of panic. Guys panic and guys are not sure about what’s going on. ‘Are we going to stop it?’ Everybody believed and we made it happen.”
What does Leonard Williams think about the Jets getting trade calls for him?
He said he didn’t know of the ESPN report that teams are calling about the defensive end and that they’re not in a rush to move him. Williams has said he wants to end his career as a Jet.
“I wouldn’t say it makes me uneasy,” Williams said. “You see the best players in the league get traded. It’s not like it’s a personal thing. It’s the way the business is and I can’t take anything personal. I can’t really focus on it because I can’t control it. The best thing I can control is my play. Wherever I end up, just focus on that.”
How happy was Adams after this game?
Ecstatic. Adams grew up in Dallas and he wasn’t a Cowboy fan because his dad, George, played for the Giants. He said it would mean so much to him for the Jets to beat the Cowboys, and he was a big part of it with his nine tackles and huge play to seal the victory.
“It’s just one, but it’s a good one,” Adams said. “Obviously it’s against my hometown. I’m very excited about it. How ‘bout them Cowboys. I’m excited about it.
“It’s just another stepping stone. Everybody counting us out. Everybody didn’t have faith in us, including some of our fans. We just want to get that faith back into us.”
Did the Jets really use the overlooked angle as motivation?
Yes. Adams brought it up. Williams said they talked about it before the game. And Jordan Jenkins said they need to go back to work Monday with the same feeling and “remember everything people said about us.”
“Nobody counted on us to win this game,” Jenkins said. “Everybody bet on the Cowboys. They thought they were going to come in here and we were going to get blown out. If we keep working we can shut everybody up.”
How did Sam Darnold feel playing with the extra padding to protect his spleen?
He got hit hard and popped back up so he said it was all good.
“I took a couple of shots, but it didn’t affect me at all,” Darnold said. “The pads worked great, super light, and they protected me well. It was good out there.”
