The opposition’s colors will be different, and so will its players. The Jets aren’t facing the Colts on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
But defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich wants his unit to treat this game as if it is. To remember the embarrassment it felt that night and bring the anger and emotion it would have if this were a rematch.
In some ways, it is. Sunday’s opponent, the Eagles, play a similar style and their coaching staff has ties to the Colts (Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spent 2018-20 as the Colts offensive coordinator under Frank Reich). It was the message Ulbrich sent to the Jets’ defense when game-planning began this week.
“ ‘Fellas, this coaching family comes from Indianapolis,’ ” he told them. “ ‘They’re sharing game-plan ideas, they’re sharing what was successful, and then ultimately, they’re going to go back and watch the tape and see what worked.’ ”
Everything worked for the Colts on Nov. 4 against the Jets. They rolled up 532 yards of offense in a 45-30 thrashing that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. They ran for 260 yards and picked up 8.7 yards per carry and scored 42 points in the first three quarters.
“Ever since that Indy game, just a pit in my stomach, and a pit in our guys’ stomachs,” Ulbrich said on Thursday. “Collectively, we know that’s not who we are. But we put it on tape, so until we prove otherwise, that is who we are. So I look forward to these guys getting an opportunity to go out there and really show themselves who they can be.”
The Jets’ defense has started to play better of late, and is coming off its best performance of the season. It held the Texans to 202 yards of offense in a 21-14 victory Sunday and notched five sacks. That came after a solid effort in a loss to the Dolphins. That is progress, after the Jets gave up an average of 43.7 points over the four games beforehand, and looked primed to set franchise records for futility. They still are last in points allowed per game (30.4) and 27th in rushing defense (128.7).
The Eagles’ offense will present a stiff test. Prior to Sunday’s 13-7 loss to the Giants, their offense had been rolling, scoring 70 points in wins over the Saints and Broncos. They average a league-best 157.9 yards rushing per game and 222 over their last three contests. It’s a run-first offense, just like the Colts’ attack, but with an added dimension in mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“We’re definitely going to see some of the plays that we got from the Colts I’m pretty sure,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “For us, we’re going to have to do a great job of stopping the vertical separation in our defense. That’s what hurt us a lot in the Indy game. I feel like we’ve grown and got a lot better since then, especially in the run game.”
They get to prove how different they are this week. It won’t be the Colts coming to MetLife Stadium, but the Jets will get the opportunity against a similar style to atone for that disastrous performance.
“I know it’s haunted our players, so what a great opportunity to get that taste out their mouth,” Ulbrich said. “[We want] to prove to the fans, but probably more importantly to ourselves, that that was a fluke. That’s not who we are.”