Jets left tackle Olu Fashanu is working to put a rough outing behind him before his team faces the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Fashanu played 66 snaps in last week’s 31-24 loss to the Lions in Detroit, but gave up 2.5 sacks in a performance that drew criticism from fans and analysts.
The 23-year-old said he isn’t rattled by the backlash. “That’s the reality of being an O-lineman,” Fashanu said. “At the end of the day, every player strives to be perfect. In the NFL, you’re going against guys on the other side that are pretty good, too. Games like that are going to happen. I feel like it’s really on yourself to remember who you are, fall back on your training, fall back to the guys in your room and just keep going.”
Fashanu is part of an offensive line that was expected to be a strength for the Jets this season. The unit looked the part in Week 1 against the Titans, but has struggled in both run blocking and pass protection over the past two weeks.
Fashanu said he spent this week correcting the mistakes from the Detroit game. “For myself, it’s just bouncing back,” he said. “Last week, I didn’t have a good game, obviously. I know that my job in pass protection is to keep Geno [Smith] clean and healthy. I didn’t do that last week. For myself, it’s just remembering who I am, just focusing on my technique, being dialed in to the snap count and all that and just doing everything possible to keep Geno clean.”
According to Fashanu, the entire offensive line used practice time this week to figure out what has gone wrong over the last two games.
“Getting our mojo back, getting back to that same mentality we had in the Tennessee game,” Fashanu said of the line’s focus this week. “At the end of the day, we know our ability and we know that these last two weeks haven’t been the best for our O-line. This week was all about getting prepared for Chicago and focusing on ourselves.”
Ahead of the Chicago matchup, the Jets elevated wide receiver Sterling Shepard from the practice squad for the second consecutive week, along with linebacker Jaden Keller.
