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Muhammad Wilkerson On WFAN: Jets Need To Continue Forcing Turnovers

NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Muhammad Wilkerson is satisfied with how the Jets opened the season.

The big defensive end spoke to WFAN's Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on Tuesday and touched on various aspects of the 31-10 victory over Cleveland in Week 1.

Wilkerson said the key to allowing just one touchdown was third down defense and forcing turnovers. The Jets were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season forcing turnovers, but on Sunday pressured  the Browns into five.

Muhammad Wilkerson

"We decided to settle down and relax," Wilkerson said, "That's the biggest thing we did, getting off the field on third down. We had a hard time doing that at first, but later on we did what we had to do to get off the field."

He said he was impressed by the play of some of the Jets' younger defensive players. Though end Leonard Williams expressed concerns about his conditioning, Wilkerson said he's not worried about the rookie.

"I think he had a solid performance, but this is a pro level, our job. And if he feels he's not in shape I'm pretty sure he'll get himself in shape and get ready to go," Wilkerson said.

The Jets' opponent next week will be decidedly tougher as they travel to Indianapolis on Monday night to take on the Colts, who were handled by Rex Ryan and the Bills up in Buffalo in Week 1.

When asked how the Jets can return home 2-0, Wilkerson said, "Well, each and every week we worry about stopping the run and they have some guys on the outside that can make plays. We need to be disruptive and be physical as we always are."

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