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This was interesting.
On the Bengals’ last series of the game, down 39-38, trying to get into at least field goal range, to kick the game-winning field goal with time winding down, it was not Harrison Phillips lined up next to Quinnen Williams at defensive tackle, but Michael Clemons.
Not sure why, and nobody would ever ask (defensive tackles are kind of ignored in modern NFL coverage), but Phillips, a class act, who gives you everything he’s got, did not have a good game up to that point.
*On the second series, on third-and-two at the 11, Samaje Perine shot up the middle for 10 yards to one – Phillips locked up by Fairchild and Quinnen Williams shot too far upfield into the B gap (between RG and RT).
*Perine had a 32-yard TD run in the third quarter, Phillips and Williams were both handled by single blockers and the runner burst up the middle.
*In the fourth quarter, on a 21-yard gain up the middle, Phillips and Williams were both locked up. On the same drive, Phillips teams with Jowon Briggs at defensive tackle, and Chase Brown went for 12 up the middle.
At this point, CBS play-by-play guy Spero Dedas said, “Bengals carving up the Jets run defense at the moment.”
Look, it’s unfair to just target defensive tackles all all these plays, but you don’t need to be a defensive line coach to see that Phillips didn’t have a great game, and the Omaha native would likely be the first to admit it. He’s always a stand-up guy.
But it was interesting that on the most important drive of the game, and perhaps the season at this point (with the Jets looking to secure their first win after an 0-7 start, the DT tandem was Williams and Clemons.
And speaking of Clemons, we have said it before, and we will say it again, it his best position is DT, where he’s lack of ideal speed (allowing too many runners to take the edge on him), can be mitigated, and his power and length can be utilized better against guards.
He might have had his best play of the season in this game, lining up at DT, in the third quarter, beating left guard Dylan Fairchild on third down, forcing a QB pressure, and Joe Flacco threw it away, and the Bengals punted.
But Phillips had a rough one, and perhaps that is the reason he wasn’t out there for the last series . . .
After his playing career, Aaron Glenn went into scouting first before diving into coaching, and while obviously some mistakes were made in this first year running the Jets’ football operation, he had some hits, like with cornerback acquisition Brandon Stephens, and one of his most underrated moves, signing wide receiver Tyler Johnson.
Glenn faced Johnson, then with the L.A. Rams in a playoff win for Detroit in 2024, and the coach was very impressed with what a great route-runner he is.
“The first thing I remember about Tyler was a playoff game, we were playing against him, and the first route, he ran a shallow crosser, and our guys in Detroit did a good job of getting him down,” Glenn said. “He ran another shallow crosser, put his foot in the ground, redirected, and I think he gained like 60 yards, and that in itself just shows his ability to be able to feel like where DBs are at, and I thought he was smart, understood exactly where to sit in zone, how to create leverage in man. So, listen, he might not be the fastest guy, he might not be the quickest guy, but sometimes when you’re as smart as he is, man you can create things that other guys with all that speed and agility can’t because he understands leverage, he understands how to sit in the zone. So, that was the one thing looking at him and once we got a chance to sign him, it was a no-brainer for us.”
And Johnson’s great route-running was on full display throughout the Jets win over Cincinnati.
In the second quarter, Justin Fields hit Johnson for a gain of 34 on a crossing route, was outstanding.
In the third quarter, 15-yard TD on fourth-and-two, Johnson ran a great route to the right corner of the end zone. He had a 15-yard gain, late in the first half, finding a soft spot in the one, in the middle of a defensive triangle in the short middle. Also on the play, he showed his top-shelf toughness because this was the kind of route you often see receivers get allligator arms – there were a lot of defenders in this area, and he knew it, and he could have been lit up, but he didn’t blink.
Speaking of his toughness, Johnson had one of the key blocks on Hall’s 35-yard TD run, locking up D.J. Turner.
When the Jets signed Johnson, a lot of people in Jets Nation never heard, and it was considered a non-descript move, but it has turned out to be one of Glenn’s better moves.
October 29, 2025
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