After a particularly impressive display against the Buffalo BIlls on Nov. 6, Joe Benigno said the Jets had the best defense in the NFL, and that they might be the best unit in franchise history.
Suffice to say that stance has changed.
“This defense is overrated, I’m tired of hearing about it,” Benigno said Monday on “Tiki and Tierney,” one day after the Jets lost 20-17 to the Detroit Lions. “This is five games in a row now – they’ve forced one freakin’ turnover in five games, OK? They never take the ball away. The Giants last night won the game because they had two huge turnovers, one that went for a touchdown. I’m tired of hearing about how great this defense is.”
While the widespread view of the Jets defense undoubtedly is more favorable than Benigno’s, there’s no disputing they haven’t impacted games lately the way they were earlier in the year.
A C.J. Uzomah touchdown reception with 4:41 left in the game Sunday put the Jets up 17-13. Had New York’s defense gotten a stop on the ensuing drive, it likely would have been enough to put the game away.
Instead, they let the Lions drive down the field, with a 51-yard touchdown reception from tight end Brock Wright on 4th and 1 putting Detroit ahead by the deciding margin.
“With the game on the line – with the game on the line – they blew it again,” Benigno said. “And I have seen this with Jet defenses forever. Forever. This defense is overrated, terrible. Haven't had a good game since the Patriots game, which they lost 10-3, and even in that game they didn’t force a damn turnover.
“Fourth-and-1, could somebody cover the backup to the backup to the backup tight end? Can the great, overrated, middle linebacker, No. 57 (C.J. Mosley), can he not jump offsides when the whole world and their brother knows that they’re not going to run a play?”
The Lions deserve plenty of credit for the comeback, but if the Jets are going to be billed as an elite defense, those are the moments they need to show up in.
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