Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh sharing a piece of his mind during an NFL game.
For the New York Jets to make NFL history they needed a ton of help from a few different areas of the team.
One of the most unlikely came via defensive back Ashtyn Davis who made the game-sealing interception in the waning moments of the unbelievable comeback versus the Cleveland Browns.
Ashtyn Davis seals the win with an interception.
Ashtyn Davis Is Here to Stay After Walk-off Home Run
The Browns had 22 seconds on the clock after the Jets took the lead with a Garrett Wilson touchdown and successful extra point conversion down 31-30.
Jacoby Brissett used his wheels to gallop for a 21-yard scramble and according to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic that was enough time to make a quick defensive change to get Davis on the field.
During his first defensive snap of the 2022 season, Davis went for quality over quantity approach. He read Brissett like a picture book and intercepted a pass that was intended for Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Throughout training camp, the majority of fans and media had written him off as an inevitable future roster cut. However to everyone’s surprise he made the final 53-man roster.
After the game head coach Robert Saleh was asked about Davis’ performance:
“Maybe he has been buried [on the depth chart] to others, not here. There is a reason why he made this football team. He has been getting better every single week and he was opportunistic last year in finding the ball. He is just getting his feet wet as he finds his footing. People take for granted how good he is on special teams. But to give him that opportunity to go three-down and try to keep that ball in front. Credit to him for keeping an eye on the quarterback and he came away with one.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh had some receipts ready after the #Browns game including a passionate defense of DB Ashtyn Davis (@ashtyn) who had the game sealing interception, ‘there’s a reason he made this football team’ + ‘he’s just getting his feet wet’ 😤👀: 🎥 @nyjets @CalFootball
Davis Has Unbelievable Potential
When Davis was originally selected with the No. 68 overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, people forgot how raw he was as a prospect.
He originally joined California’s track and field team as a walk-on and stumbled into a football tryout at the University that changed the course of his athletic career.
An athletic specimen with rare gifts, but some of the fundamentals of the game have eluded him. When you watch him on tape, one of the big things that stands out as negative is tackle pursuit angles.
That is an important trade for a safety to possess considering they’re the last line of the defense on that side of the ball. If you blow your assignment that short to intermediate gain becomes a monster explosive.
While his first two years on the surface left much to be desired, the third year was set to be the charm.
He clearly has the talent but the thing that was missing from his resume was experience in the system and a clear path to playing time. With Gang Green not doing anything of significance at the safety spot (outside of Jordan Whitehead), this was Davis’ time to shine.
The 25-year-old still has two years remaining on his rookie contract featuring a $1.3 million cap hit this season.