Jets' defense regrouped and refocused after being 'hit in the mouth' by the 49ers in the opener

The New York Jets' proud defense was walloped and its pride rocked.

An opening-game beatdown by the San Francisco 49ers' offense was stunning and embarrassing — and maybe exactly what was needed.

“As a defense, we just knew that it wasn’t us, collectively,” linebacker Jamien Sherwood said Monday of the Jets' 32-19 loss on Sept. 9. "There was a lot of plays that we left out there, that we could have done better. And, you know, ultimately that’s helped us.

“Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth in order to know what you've got to do.”

The 49ers ran through the Jets in front of a national TV audience that night, with Jordan Mason zipping past defenders for a career-high 147 yards while filling in for an injured Christian McCaffrey.

New York's defense simply couldn't get off the field, giving up 401 yards and 24 first downs. It was deemed a major test for the Jets, who have been one of the league's best on that side of the ball the past few seasons.

And that night, they failed.

“They played a good game that day to capitalize on some of our mistakes,” Sherwood said. “Our job going forward, like I’ve been saying, is to not repeat those same mistakes, to correct them as soon as possible.”

The Jets certainly got themselves back on track in the past two games.

New York beat Tennessee 24-17 on the road and allowed 300 yards in Week 2. Then, on short rest just four days later in the home opener, the Jets thoroughly dominated New England 24-3 last Thursday night.

While neither the Titans nor the Patriots are the caliber of offense the 49ers are, the performances have the Jets' defense feeling pretty confident again.

“I definitely do think that showed what we have the potential to do,” safety Chuck Clark said. “But we've got to go out there and do that every week and we've got to stack in practice.”

The Jets had seven sacks against the Patriots, who were held to just 139 total yards and 11 first downs for the game. New York also played with a lead all night, thanks to a masterful game by Aaron Rodgers, who was efficient and in control on several lengthy drives — while giving the defense some breathers.

“It definitely is a different feeling going out there as a defensive player,” Clark said. “You go up with a lead and, you know, the offense kind of got to play to you and that is how it was on Thursday night. We knew that they had to try to take their shots when they had to take them and we had to just be locked in and be ready for them.”

After playing three games in 11 games to start the season, the Jets had a few days off over the weekend before beginning to prepare for another home game Sunday against Denver.

They'll face a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, who has gone three games without throwing a touchdown pass. But the Broncos (1-2) are also coming off a 26-7 victory over Tampa Bay in which Nix ran nine times for 47 yards and a score, and was 25 of 36 for 216 yards and had no turnovers.

Sherwood, who played with Nix for two seasons at Auburn before the quarterback transferred to Oregon, acknowledged a dual-threat playmaker such as the No. 12 overall pick could be a challenge for a defense. But the focus remains the same.

“If he decides to tuck it and run it, just straining and rallying to the ball, doing our best to get the ball off of him and doing whatever we've got to do to stop him,” Sherwood said. “He’s a great athlete. You can’t take that away from him. It’s just about us doing our job.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press