Usually, New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams would be trying to tackle Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill when the AFC East rivals square off. But for one play on Sunday, the roles were reversed, and the 6-foot-3, 303-pound Williams put the 5-9, 190-pound Hill on the ground with a Derrick Henry-like shove.

The Tennessee Titans running back and the Jets defensive tackle are Alabama alumni.

“I guess coach (Nick) Saban taught us that at Bama,” Williams said after recording the first return yards of his NFL career.

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Williams got his chance to be compared to Henry when former Auburn standout Carl Lawson caused Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson to fumble.

Williams picked up the loose football and almost made it to the end zone, coming up 5 yards short on a 12-yard return. While Williams grounded Hill along the way, the former West Alabama star played a part in the tackle: Dolphins offensive tackle Greg Little pushed Williams over Hill, causing the defensive tackle to fall.

Leading by nine points at the time after a touchdown only 14 seconds earlier, the Jets scored another touchdown on their first snap from the Miami 5 with 9:08 left to play on their way to a 40-17 victory.

New York broke a 12-game losing streak against AFC East opponents and lifted its record to 3-2. In Williams’ previous three NFL seasons, the Jets’ cumulative record five games into the season was 2-13.

“It feels good,” Williams said. “We haven’t won in previous years that many games this early. To go out there, execute, you can see the hard work we put in.”

The Jets didn’t have to face Miami’s No. 1 quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa in the NFL’s concussion protocol, and on the first play of the game, his replacement, Teddy Bridgewater, got called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety and sustained an elbow injury.

Bridgewater also was evaluated for a head injury, and while he cleared that, he wasn’t allowed back into the game because of new procedures used for the first time around the NFL on Sunday. They were put into place after an investigation into the handling of Tagovailoa’s injury on Sept. 25. The independent certified athletic trainer spotter in the press box noted behavior from Bridgewater after he was tackled in the end zone that put the quarterback on the no-return list.

That put Thompson in charge of Miami’s offense in his NFL debut. Thompson completed 19-of-33 passes for 166 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

“They still have a high-powered offense,” Williams said. “They got some great individuals on their side. They still have an amazing speed corps at receiver with Raheem Mostert and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. They still got some amazing guys over there. But we did a great job of executing and communicating and playing 110 percent each and every down.”

Hill entered the game leading the NFL in receiving yards. He had seven receptions for 47 yards and two rushing attempts for 13 yards against the Jets.

“Tyreek’s an amazing player,” Williams said. “Super fast. I know a couple of reserves he got, I was chasing after him and I’m like, ‘Oh, man, he ain’t (Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback) Kenny Pickett.’”

After beating the Steelers 24-20 on Oct. 2, Sunday’s victory gave New York back-to-back victories for the first time since Weeks 15 and 16 of the 2020 season.

“It showed us,” Williams said, “that when we communicate and we execute at a high level on the plays that we did communicate and execute at a high level, we can be a serious defense, the defense that we know we can be. It showed us that if we communicate and not shoot ourself in the foot, we can be a good team.”

The Jets haven’t won three in a row since the 2019 season. On Sunday, New York visits the Green Bay Packers.

“It’s like a ladder,” Williams said. “We got to keep going up, keep going up.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.