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Sunday’s game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills got personal for one longtime NFL veteran.
Bills defensive lineman Shaq Lawson didn’t hide his feelings in the post-game media availability:
“This game was a little personal for me. I took this to heart. I got cut last year before the last game of the season versus Buffalo. I feel like it was a shot to my face. So when I made that play, every tackle I made, I would just let the whole sideline over there hear me and feel me. After that sack, that is why I celebrated for so long. I probably ran 50 yards but I was just letting them know I still got it.”
Former Jets Veteran Comes Back to Haunt Them in Bills Rematch
On August 29 right ahead of the 2021 season opener, general manager Joe Douglas traded away a 2022 sixth-round draft choice to the Houston Texans in exchange for Lawson.
It was a low-risk move that had a chance for a high reward.
The former No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft was a solid rotational piece but had the potential to be so much more especially in the Jets scheme.
It was a reactionary move to the Jets losing veteran Carl Lawson for the season with a torn Achilles.
The recently acquired Lawson ended up appearing in 14 games for the Jets and he started in seven of those contests. He had one sack, five quarterback hits, and finished with 23 total tackles.
However, his biggest contribution came in the Week 8 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
With 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bengals were up 31-26 looking to close the game out.
On first and 10, Lawson deflected a Joe Burrow pass up into the air and caught the interception. Gang Green would go on to win 34-31 in what was later deemed the Mike White hall of fame game.
That would be the lone highlight from his time with the Jets and as Lawson mentioned, the team decided to cut bait on January 8 right before the season finale.
After the game on Sunday, December 11, Lawson took to social media to seemingly call out Jets fans who said he was “washed up [and] didn’t make plays for us last year.”
Shaq Lawson Gets the Last Laugh on the Jets
The former Clemson Tiger product finished the day with two tackles (both of those solo), one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, and a critical sack.
With 10:03 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Jets in striking range down 20-7 Lawson registered a sack for an 11-yard loss. Gang Green had just gotten into Buffalo territory and appeared as if they were going to cut into the deficit.
Instead, the sack totally disrupted the drive and the Jets would be forced to punt a few players later.
Lawson never lived up to the billing with the Jets, but returning to his roots in Buffalo with the team that originally drafted him has seemed to work wonders.
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