It was oh so predictable of this unpredictable year.
The Jets were without star defense lineman Quinnen Williams. The 10-win Browns were in town, racking up five wins in six games with the league’s third-placed rush attack.
So of course the front seven of the Jets played in typical 2020 form as the best unit in the league.
It kept the Browns, who were without their top four receivers due to COVID-19 protocols, at 45 rushing yards on 18 carriers. It sacked Baker Mayfield four times, which equates to a season high. Nick Chubb was held to a season low 28 yards. With the game in the balance, the turnover forced on Cleveland’s last two possessions and produced three in total.
“It shows that we are not stopping, that we are still approaching every week to win,” outside linebacker Tarell Basham after Gang Green won their second straight, 23-16, over the Browns at the fanless MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. . “Great game plan. Our coaches put us in a position to make plays and we showed up today to make plays. We played with energy, enthusiasm and flew around, got to the ball. “
John Franklyn-Myers, Frankie Luvu, Nathan Shepherd, and Basham each had pockets. Basham forced two fumbles, and Luvu created another. Franklyn-Myers and Folorunso Fatukasi have each found one.
Basham was the big star that got big in the last minutes. While the Jets had a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter, he hit Mayfield from behind, releasing the ball. It led to a field goal from Jets and a seven-point lead.
But the Browns had one last chance and headed for the Jets’ sixteen-meter line. Mayfield held onto fourth and first place. But as he spun around to gain extra yards, Basham again took the ball from him and sealed the win with 1:25 left.
“We’ve gotten so much backlash from the inside,” Basham said, spreading the credit. “We got so much backlash from within that Baker had nowhere else to go, forcing him to slide my way.”
“Blessed, frankly, blessed to be able to play such a game as a team at such a critical time in the game,” he added.
The defense of the Jets was fired by the Seahawks for 41 points and 410 yards in total on December 13. The week before, it allowed the Raiders to triumph on a long pass with five seconds to go. But for the past two weeks, the unit has played big against the Rams and Browns, beating out a few potential playoff teams after allowing at least 30 points in five of the previous six games.
‘Boys keep fighting. It means a lot to us as players to come and play to win, and actually win a game and not just keep going home with losers, ”said Basham. ‘We have children. That is the last thing you want to go home and explain to your kids every week that you are a loser.
‘You want them to be winners, but it seems you can’t win. So this is big for us as players. “