The Jets’ new black/light iron ore/dark stucco Gotham City Football “Rivalries” uniforms will prove more ominous to opponents than in their debut against Miami on Sunday. But the Green & White were in need of some sparks during the gray 34-10 loss to the Dolphins, and one player supplied more than his share.
And Isaiah Williams agreed that for just a small portion of Sunday’s game, he thought about that “redemption” tag that he’s been fulfilling ever since committing two return errors in the Jets’ Week 4 loss, which just happened to come at Miami.
“All throughout the week, I’m like this is just another game,” Williams said. “But when I hit the field, I’m not like I’m going to force anything. But this … it just kind of hit me what happened, being able to bounce back from it. It was like, man, this was the perfect opportunity for me to put on display everything I learned from that game.”
Williams made some green sparks fly just a little bit. His first fireworks display was a familiar script for the Jets and their fans. Four games after dazzling the MetLife faithful with his 74-yard punt-return score against Cleveland, he did it again with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter, when his electricity seemed as if it just might light the Jets’ way back into the competition. He started right, cut back wide left, then knifed through the Miami coverage before tumbling across the goal line, this time with a 78-yard PR score.
“Man, it’s all 11 guys doing their jobs. That’s really what it is,” he said. “Every time we go on special teams, we expect to make a play. Those guys block for me and all I’ve got to do is just run, find an open lane and score.”
Not surprisingly, Williams found his way into the franchise record book with that mad dash, which made him the third different player to return two punts for TDs in the same season. Understated Titans great Dick Christy did it twice, in 1961 and again in ’62. Santana Moss was the only other Jet to do it, in back-to-back games in 2002, against Cleveland and at San Diego.
“When you get a win, I feel like that makes it sweeter,” Williams said of his centerpiece play. “But anytime you can make a play like that in this league, it’s a blessing.”
Williams isn’t limiting himself merely to punts, though. A week after his 83-yard kickoff return vs. Atlanta, he provided two more modest KO returns against the Dolphins of 38 and 31 yards. Along with 91 total punt-return yards and 24 yards on two receptions, his 184 all-purpose yards gave him his third 150-yard APY outing in the Jets’ last six games.