Harrison Phillips braces for first divisional meeting with Josh Allen
Former teammates turn rivals as the Jets look to limit Allen’s dual-threat impact after Phillips joined New York this season.
Harrison Phillips said he knows exactly what the New York Jets will face Sunday when they meet Josh Allen for the first time as divisional opponents.
Phillips, a defensive tackle acquired from Minnesota at the end of August, was teammates with Allen from 2018 through 2021 and was in the same 2018 draft class. He called Allen “chronically competitive” and acknowledged the Bills quarterback’s growth into an elite, dual-threat leader who won the league MVP last season and led a come-from-behind victory over Baltimore on Sunday night.
“As a defensive lineman, I prefer having someone who can’t move that fast,” Phillips said after practice Thursday. “Josh holds about every rushing record I think that there is because of his ability, and just adds a whole other layer to it. I always kind of cheer for his success, I hope he doesn’t have that much success against us. He’s an MVP in this league and completely turned the organization around and put them in the conglomerate that they are. So, we definitely have a tall glass of water in front of us.”
The 29-year-old Phillips was signed in a move intended to shore up the Jets’ run defense. New York allowed 121.1 rushing yards per game in 2024, and Phillips said he was brought in to address that weakness. He helped limit the Pittsburgh Steelers to 53 rushing yards in a 34-32 loss in the season opener, though Phillips said he was not entirely satisfied with his own performance.
“I hope that that was my worst game of the year,” he said. Phillips played with only two padded practices before the opener.
Defensive line coach Eric Washington, who coached Phillips in Buffalo in 2020 and 2021, praised Phillips’s on-field communication and leadership, calling him an “excellent communicator” who helps align teammates and relay adjustments in real time.
Phillips also described a long-running personal competitiveness with Allen. “I don’t know if I’ve ever beat him in anything,” Phillips said. He noted one exception: a 33-30 overtime victory in 2022 when Phillips, then with Minnesota, faced Buffalo.
The matchup carries both tactical and personal layers. Allen’s ability as a runner compounds the challenge for interior defenders, as his rushing records and mobility force teams to account for designed runs and improvised lanes. Phillips said he respects Allen’s accomplishments but will do what the Jets need to slow him.
Phillips’s arrival in New York came via a trade that sent him from Minnesota to the Jets in exchange for two sixth-round draft picks. The signing was part of a broader effort by New York to beef up its defensive front and improve early-down run stopping.
Phillips’s comments added context to what the Jets expect to be a physical divisional showdown. With Phillips signaling high standards for his own play and Washington pointing to his leadership, the Jets will try to translate those elements into a game plan capable of containing a quarterback regarded as one of the NFL’s most dangerous playmakers.