Shaq Lawson's interception sets up winning touchdown for Jets
Shaq Lawson of the Jets intercepts a pass from Joe Burrow of the Bengals during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Almost as improbable as what Mike White did for the Jets on Sunday was defensive lineman Shaq Lawson picking up the team’s first interception of the season in Game No. 7.
But it was a magical day at MetLife Stadium. Lawson’s fourth-quarter pick was one of the pivotal plays in the Jets’ stunning 34-31 victory over the Bengals.
The Jets were trailing 31-26 when Joe Burrow tried to hit Ja’Marr Chase with a simple screen pass.
Lawson read the play and tipped the ball to himself.
"I seen the tackle block down," Lawson said. "I got my hand on some balls early and I had a chance to catch it, but the o-liner knocked me down. Our d-line coach kept saying, ‘We’ve got to make a big play.’
"The play happened so slow. I know I tipped it, but it was like I blacked out. I was saying, ‘I’ve got to catch this. I can’t let Joe Burrow interfere with me on that.’ It was just a big play. I didn’t even know how to act when I got it."
Lawson said it was not just his first interception in the NFL, but his first interception ever.
"College, anything, it was my first pick," he said. "I was at the right place at the right time."
The interception set the Jets up at the Bengals’ 14 with 4:36 left. It took all of two snaps for White to find Tyler Kroft alone in the back of the end zone for the winning 13-yard touchdown.
Lawson’s pick was a big play, but it wasn’t the only one made by a Jets defense that was embarrassed by the Patriots in a 54-13 loss last Sunday.
Coach Robert Saleh said the defensive players "took it personal" and vowed to do better against the Bengals’ high-powered offense.
The tone was set early, as it often is, with a goal-line stand.
The Jets were leading 7-0 in the first quarter when White threw a tipped-ball interception to Jessie Bates III that was returned 65 yards to the Jets’ 1.
Rookie wide receiver Elijah Moore tackled Bates to keep the ball out of the end zone, and the Jets defense did the rest. Three Cincinnati tries to get in the end zone actually lost 2 yards, and then Quinnen Williams sacked Burrow on fourth down to give the ball back to the offense.
"They were awesome," White said. "They made such huge plays. They didn’t flinch, they didn’t get upset when we had those turnovers. Shaq Lawson came up with an unbelievable play. I still don’t know how he was able to diagnose that, tip it, and then catch it. That’s unbelievable. That’s just what our defense is made of."
Linebacker C.J. Mosley, who returned after missing the New England game with a hamstring injury, said "today we showed what winning football looks like . . . We got a big turnover and when we needed a stop, we got one."
When asked about Lawson’s interception, Mosley put his hands to his head in a "mind blown" gesture.
"Great play by Law," he said. "That’s a Hall of Fame defensive end type of play. I think about Terrell Suggs doing it all the time. Tipping the ball to himself . . . I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ That was crazy. That ball felt like it was in the air about five seconds. It was awesome."
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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