Jets' Harrison Phillips makes an impact everywhere he goes
The Jets' Harrison Phillips lines up during a game against the Steelers on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Getty Images/Evan Bernstein
Harrison Phillips was in the same Bills draft class as Josh Allen in 2018. They quickly became friends, and Phillips knew right away that Allen would be a big problem for opposing defenses.
Allen’s work ethic and competitive fire had Phillips confident that he would be a star. Allen hated losing at everything, Phillips said, even calling “shotgun” to make sure he sat in the front passenger seat of a car.
Allen has been driving the Bills ever since.
“He let nothing go,” Phillips, now a defensive tackle for the Jets, told Newsday. “He was uber-competitive in everything that we did, non-football-related, football-related. There's just no way someone with that amount of drive would be denied.”
The Jets will try to deny Allen on Sunday when the reigning NFL MVP leads Buffalo into MetLife Stadium for an AFC East clash in Week 2. Both teams are coming off emotional games.
The Bills erased a 15-point deficit with four minutes left and beat Baltimore, 41-40, on Matt Prater’s last-second field goal. The Jets squandered a nine-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to Pittsburgh, 34-32, on Chris Boswell’s 60-yard field goal with 1:03 left.
The Jets had some pass-coverage issues to clean up after Aaron Rodgers beat them with four touchdown throws. Allen creates an entirely different challenge because of his rocket arm and ability to escape the pocket and use his 6-5, 237-pound frame to run through defenders.
“He is one of those guys that can will his team to victory,” Aaron Glenn said.
Phillips, who spent four seasons with Buffalo, saw that firsthand. He is “so proud of [Allen's] success,” but he wants nothing more than to sack him and beat him. Neither will be easy.
“He's one of the best in the world at making that not happen,” Phillips said.
The Jets, who acquired Phillips from Minnesota in August, are his third team. The Bills and Vikings went from missing the playoffs to being a Super Bowl contender with Phillips on the roster, and he is going for the three-peat now with the Jets.
The Bills were 6-10 in Phillips’ rookie season. They went 13-3 two years later. The Vikings were 8-9 the year before Phillips arrived. They went 13-4 in his first season and 14-3 last year.
“Pretty cool to be a part of those things,” Phillips said.
The common ingredients that Phillips noted are having a good culture, everyone buying in and being a player-led team. Glenn is trying to create all of that with the Jets.
When Phillips joined the Jets, he said, “The arrow is pointing up here.” He hopes to make sure “that arrow continues to point up and do whatever I can to play that part as well.”
Phillips, whose 260 tackles since 2021 are the fifth-most among linemen, wasn’t the main reason for his former teams’ turnarounds, but the Stanford graduate contributed to their resurgence by being a selfless and heady player and leader who did the dirty work so other players could shine.
“My position is the fire hydrant at the dog show,” Phillips said. “It's still a job. I have pride in myself and been fortunate enough to always have a job in my time in the league because of the selflessness of my play.
“If I can just be a consistent player and everyone around me knows what they're going to get out of me, that might not be your All-Pro stud production player, but my teammates trust me and know exactly what I'm going to do for them. That allows them to play faster and I can play off of them and try to make teammates around me smarter by anticipating plays.”
It didn’t take long for Phillips to make an impression on the Jets. In one of his first practices, he diagnosed a formation and alerted his new teammates. Linebacker Jamien Sherwood was just about to do that. He said Phillips “beat me to it, and that was just eye-opening.”
Phillips’ film study and preparation also have enabled him to be an important cog on winning teams. Glenn called Phillips “a legit, legit leader” who helped bring “downtrodden” teams back up, and he believes he can do the same with the Jets.
“He's going to pour into all these guys as much as he has to make sure that they understand what it takes to win,” Glenn said.
Jets defensive line coach Eric Washington was Phillips' position coach in Buffalo for two seasons, and he's happy to be coaching him again. He called Phillips “an excellent communicator” who has “tremendous awareness.”
Phillips had two tackles in his Jets debut and helped create splash plays for tackle Quinnen Williams and edge rusher Will McDonald. Washington said that’s part of Phillips’ impact. He can “really, really control” the center and “neutralize that particular player,” giving the other linemen the flexibility and room to make plays.
“He's a tough out,” Washington said. “He's in the middle of our defense, and we have to be extremely strong and durable and no-doubt at that position.”
Phillips was glad he could affect some plays, but he was critical of himself. He said he hopes it was his “worst game” of the season.
Glenn was a little taken aback when he heard that.
“If this was his worst game,” he said, “hell, I look forward to what he's going to give us from here on out then.”
The arrow could be pointing up for Phillips and the Jets.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
