The Jets are heading into their home opener with a defense that already looks battle-tested, and Aaron Glenn may have exactly the kind of history he wants when Jordan Love and the Packers come to town.
New York opened 2026 by steamrolling Robert Saleh’s Tennessee Titans, but Green Bay should be a far tougher read. Love is the biggest edge the Packers bring into the matchup, yet his track record against Glenn’s defenses has not been nearly as clean as his reputation suggests.
Per Will Parkinson, Love is 1-3 in his career against defenses with Glenn calling the shots, with both of those losses coming in 2024. Across those four games, Love has thrown five touchdowns and been intercepted three times. Those numbers came against Lions secondaries that were often short on talent, which makes the pattern even more notable.
That matters for a Jets defense that is already working through some absences. Standout safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will miss the game while recovering from a multi-week groin injury, a development that could push backups Andre Cisco and Malachi Moore into larger roles. Rookie D’Angelo Ponds is also working back toward full health and may need to make his NFL debut at nickel, a spot he is not used to playing.
The matchup also puts Glenn in position to stress Green Bay in the same way Brian Flores just did. Love is coming off a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and Flores blitzed on more than 80 percent of the Packers’ dropbacks in that game - the highest rate in the NFL. Washington and Glenn’s Jets ranked next behind Minnesota in that category.
That kind of pressure package could show up again in Week 2. The Packers have their own issues on offense, starting with Josh Jacobs being on the commissioner’s exempt list and dealing with serious legal trouble. That leaves MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks as the likely ground-game options, and the source material suggests they may not be an ideal substitute tandem.
Green Bay’s offensive line is another area that could be exposed. Aside from Zach Bako-Bewele, the group is described as one that could use improvement, and Minnesota already showed where the weak spots are. If the Jets can get the same kind of game script they had against Tennessee, Glenn should have every reason to pin his ears back and go after Love.
There is another wrinkle worth watching on the other side of the ball. Smith has been sharp against Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the past, going 4-0 in starts against Gannon’s Arizona Cardinals and posting a 112.7 passer rating. If that trend carries into Week 2, New York’s upset path gets a lot more realistic.
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Jets Face One Week 2 Threat That Could Wreck Every Advantage
The Jets head into Week 2 with some built-in reasons for optimism against Green Bay. Aaron Glenn has had success against Jordan Love, and Geno Smith has also been productive throwing against Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Add in Garrett Wilson as a potential centerpiece for the passing game, plus a defense that looked steady enough in Week 1, and the early matchup does not look intimidating on paper.
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