Garrett Wilson understands exactly what Jets fans are walking into at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The home opener arrives with the usual hope and the usual baggage. New York hasn’t been to the playoffs in 15 years, and the team still has never hosted a playoff game in the stadium it will open at home against the Green Bay Packers. That reality hangs over the fan base, even with spirits lifted by the Jets’ first season-opening win that did not include a season-ending injury to the starting quarterback since 2018.
Wilson, now in his fifth season with the Jets, knows the mood in that building as well as anyone. He’s spent enough time in the organization to understand how much the fan base has endured, and he made sure to speak directly to that before Week 2.
“I love our fans. And I know how they pop out every season, every year.
Even in the offseason, they’re thinking about football season. It’s just a different fanbase, they’re wired a little different.
Their loyalty is never in question. There hasn’t been much to root for, and we’re all aware of that.
And we owe it to them,” said Wilson on Wednesday.
He added that he doesn’t want the moment to become bigger than the job in front of him.
“That’s just the mindset. I wouldn’t say there’s any extra, my job is to go out and play good football and all the fans will feel good going home, and that’s kind of the mindset. I don’t want to let it consume me and make it bigger than what it is, it’s more of just, yeah, our fans are special.”
Wilson also zeroed in on the pattern that has frustrated Jets supporters for years: the slow bleed of optimism after poor early starts.
“Early in the season, if we show them that we can sustain and do what we do, execute, they’ll be there throughout the whole season. I think the problem these past years has been like, that first game, we ain’t give them exactly what they wanted, and then it kind of trickles out. We got to give them something to root for, and that’s our plan on Sunday.”
The Jets are trying to chase their first 2-0 start since 2015, which also happened to be their last winning season. Wilson will be a central part of that push, but his message was aimed just as much at the stands as the scoreboard: the fans have stuck around, and the team knows it owes them something back.
In Other News...
Robert Saleh Is Bringing Back A Jets Debate In Tennessee
Robert Salehs return to the sideline in Tennessee brought an old Jets conversation back with him, this time in a different uniform and against his former team. His first game as Titans coach ended in a 23-10 loss to New York, but the more familiar part for Jets followers came before and during the game, when Titans players were seen wearing 60% T-shirts, a nod to the mantra Saleh once used in New York to push players to bring more energy and urgency.
The game itself only sharpened the sense that the same debates travel with a coach as much as the results do. Salehs decision-making drew attention, including a punt on fourth-and-9 while Tennessee was trailing, a choice that fit into a broader conversation about how aggressive he wants to be in key moments. For Jets fans, it was a reminder that even after Saleh moved on, some of the old arguments about his style are still very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Got An Unexpected Week 1 Boost Up Front
David Onyemata gave the Jets a useful spark up front in Week 1, and it came from a place the team probably did not have pegged as a major source of pressure. The veteran defensive tackle finished with three total pressures, leading New Yorks interior defensive line and showing a pass-rush presence that stood out on a unit still sorting out its rotation.
For Onyemata, the takeaway was less about volume than role. He was brought in largely as a run defender, but his pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus was strong enough to place him near the top of the position group, and it came while Jowon Briggs logged only limited snaps. If the Jets are going to squeeze more disruption out of the middle as the season settles in, Onyematas early work gives them at least one encouraging piece to build on. [Read more 🡒]
Frank Reich Set A Tone The Jets Offense Has Been Missing
After the Jets put together a dominant offensive showing against the Titans, offensive coordinator Frank Reich struck the kind of measured, accountable tone that can matter as much as any play call. He acknowledged what went well, but he also pointed out the areas that still need work, which is a different kind of postgame message than the Jets have often heard in recent years.
Reichs approach seems aimed at something bigger than one strong outing. His emphasis on honesty and steady improvement lines up with what quarterback Geno Smith echoed afterward, and it gives the offense a chance to build around responsibility rather than empty praise. For a unit trying to establish a new identity, that kind of leadership may end up being the real takeaway. [Read more 🡒]