The New York Jets got embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
Gang Green gave up 224 rushing yards on the ground, allowed 30 points, and got trounced by three scores. On Thursday, September 18, team captain Quinnen Williams revealed that he and his teammates made a special “pact” this week, vowing to never let this happen again.
“We really honed in and focused on the stepback we took from Week 1 to Week 2. We all made a pact as a defense, player-to-player, that won’t ever happen again. So moving forward, just getting better every single day doing the things that we know that we can do as a defense and as a unit,” Williams said.
“It wasn’t a special meeting; it was just a regular defensive meeting. We all took constructive criticism from each other, owned up to what we need to do right, and got better. Not just talking about it, but really taking the time yesterday and today to get better at what we need to get better at. Whether it was staying after practice late or coming up before practice early, we did what we needed to do when it came down to stopping the run in Week 1. Being able to be consistent in that and doing the things we know we can do, so it won’t ever happen again,” Williams added.
Team captain Quinnen Williams revealed that the defense ‘made a pact’ ‘player to player that won’t ever happen again.’
Williams said everyone owned up to their mistakes in that meeting & got better. He said it wasn’t just talk
Jets Have Displayed Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Through Two Weeks
Williams is right, the Jets did do more than enough in the season opener against the run.
The Pittsburgh Steelers toted the rock 20 times for 53 rushing yards. They averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per rush.
That all disappeared in Week 2.
James Cook carried most of the load with 132 rushing yards, two rushing scores, and averaged 6.3 yards per rush.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on the “Flight Deck” podcast that the Jets‘ identity was stolen last week in a bitter division rivalry. Buffalo did what the Jets wanted to do.
So What the Heck Happened?
“Everything we do starts upfront, and we gotta do a great job every week in controlling the line of scrimmage. I thought we did that against Pittsburgh. The word I talked about with the players is consistency, and that’s what needs to show up each and every week,” Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks explained on Thursday, September 18.
“When you look at what I consider to be our nemesis, third down, which equates to penalties. First week, you’re talking about third and 10 twice on the first drive, and we allowed our opponent to get out of that. When you work that hard on first and second down to create those guys to get behind the sticks, we gotta get off the field,” Wilks added.
Jets Continue to Be an Undisciplined Outfit
In 2024, the Jets were the most penalized team in the league. Some of those same demons are haunting the team in 2025.
Gang Green has 12 penalties accepted for 109 yards through the first two weeks of the season. The quantity is high and the quality has been worse. These penalties are bad under any circumstances, but they have come at critical times of the game.
If the Jets don’t clean up the penalty issues, it won’t matter what kind of pact the team made behind the scenes.
Quinnen Williams Makes ‘Pact’ With Jets Defense After Humiliating Loss