Jets' Quinnen Williams shrugs off comments by DC Jeff Ulbrich

PITTSBURGH — Quinnen Williams has no hard feelings.

The Jets defensive lineman put to rest any idea that there might be tension between him and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich after Sunday’s 24-20 comeback win over the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.

Ulbrich praised Williams while talking with reporters this past week after previously raising a question about his conditioning.

“There’s like these critical moments in the game and ‘why is Quinnen not out there?’ and you look to the side and he’s gasping for air, so just got to be judicious with it,” Ulbrich said when asked why Williams was not playing more snaps.

Williams shrugged off the criticism.

“It didn’t bother me at all,” he said. “I’ve been around Coach ’Brich for two years now. I know his heart. I know social media and media can twist words and make things seem like they’re not what they really are.”

Williams said he and Ulbrich had a “great” conversation once the story came out.

“He told me how he felt about me and I told him how I felt about him and different things,” Williams said. “In the NFL, we’re all family. He’s like an uncle to me. We’re going to have some disagreements because of the profession we’re in, but stuff like that I didn’t take to heart at all.

“I know his heart, I know his head, I know how he feels about me as a person. I work every single day to earn that trust and put on tape that I can be the player they know I can be.”

Williams played well Sunday as the Jets evened their record at 2-2, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He had a sack, two quarterback hits and six tackles (three solo).

The sack came in the second quarter when he took down Mitch Trubisky on third-and-8 from the Jets’ 23 with his team leading 10-0. The Steelers had to settle for Chris Boswell’s 51-yard field goal.

It proved to be a key moment in what wound up a four-point game.

The Steelers had 297 total yards, and the Jets’ defense was at its best when the game was on the line.

After rookie backup quarterback Kenny Pickett’s 2-yard touchdown run pushed the Steelers’ lead to 20-10 with 13:36 left, the Jets shut out Pittsburgh the rest of the way.

Pickett replaced Trubisky to start the second half after the Steelers’ offense faltered to start the game.

Pittsburgh had two more possessions after the TD, ending in interceptions by Michael Carter II and Lamarcus Joyner.

The pick by Joyner came in the end zone on the game’s last play as Pickett attempted a desperation pass from the Jets’ 48.

Williams believes there is room for improvement.

“When we execute and communicate on a high level consistently, I know we’ll be the defense I know we can be,” he said. “We did well, but we can do better.”