For Jets fans, this is the kind of early-season number that can make you blink twice: through two games in 2026, New York has actually been better than its opponents in the passing game on both sides of the ball.
That’s not a small thing. It’s the backbone of how games get decided now.
The league has moved far beyond the old ground-and-pound era, and passing efficiency usually tells you who’s going to walk out with the win. In the 2025 NFL regular season, the team with the better passer rating won 203 of 272 games, a 74.6% clip.
The Jets have spent most of the 21st century fighting to get to this point. There have been seasons when they could run the ball, seasons when the pass defense carried them, but rarely both at once.
That’s why what’s happening now stands out. New York is finally showing a passing profile that works from both directions.
The clearest sign is the net yards per pass attempt margin. The Jets are at +2.4, which ranks fifth in the NFL. They’re in a very serious neighborhood, too, with Seattle (+3.9), Los Angeles (+3.2), Baltimore (+2.8), San Francisco (+2.4), and Buffalo (+2.2) all sitting near the top of that list.
Net yards per attempt matters because it gives a cleaner picture than raw yards per attempt. It folds sacks and sack yardage into the equation, so it’s a better snapshot of how effective a passing game really is. It still misses a few things - quarterback scrambles and penalties, for example - but it gets you close to the truth.
On defense, the Jets have been especially sharp. They rank second in the league by allowing just 3.9 net yards per attempt, trailing only Seattle’s 3.8. That kind of number is the kind that can tilt a week before the other team even realizes it.
And the offense has done enough to keep the whole thing balanced. Led by Geno Smith’s steady play, the Jets are 14th in the NFL at 6.3 net yards per attempt.
That’s not fireworks. It doesn’t need to be.
If the defense keeps playing this way, an above-average passing offense is enough to give New York a real edge.
The catch, of course, is that two weeks is a tiny sample. The Jets have done this against Cam Ward and an extremely depleted Packers offense in the rain, so the proof still has to come against stronger tests.
Those tests are right around the corner. Week 3 brings an indoor road game against Jared Goff and the high-octane Lions offense. After that, the Jets go to Chicago to face Ben Johnson and the Bears, though it remains to be seen whether starting quarterback Caleb Williams will be available.
For now, though, the Jets have at least put a real passing-game formula on the table. The challenge is whether they can sustain it - and whether they can turn it into wins without getting in their own way.
In Other News...
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The Jets already entered the 2027 draft picture in enviable shape, sitting on the third and eighth overall picks after trading with the Colts and Packers. Now the way those two teams are trending has made that haul look even more intriguing, because the early projections tied to Elo ratings point to both clubs having rough seasons ahead. For a franchise that has spent years chasing roster-building breaks, that kind of draft capital can change the entire conversation.
Indianapolis is navigating a shaky stretch with Daniel Jones injured and the defense struggling, while Green Bay has been hit by injuries and recent losses. If those problems linger, New York could end up with three top-10 selections instead of two, giving the Jets a rare chance to remake the top of their roster in one shot. For a team still trying to climb back into contender status, that kind of leverage is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Have A Real Opening Sunday But One Problem Could Ruin It
The Jets enter Sunday with a chance to make some real noise on offense, and the matchup gives them a clear opening. Through two games, New York has moved the ball well enough to stay in the middle tier of the league, and the red-zone work has been a bright spot, with the offense turning two-thirds of those trips into touchdowns and cashing in every goal-to-go chance so far.
Detroit, though, is the kind of opponent that can make a promising afternoon turn messy in a hurry. The Lions have been vulnerable near the goal line, but they also bring an efficient attack led by Jared Goff and backed by Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta, and the Jets will have to do it without Minkah Fitzpatrick in the secondary. That combination leaves New York with a real path to an upset, but also one obvious area where the game could slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Geno Smith Is Climbing Jets History Faster Than Fans Expected
Geno Smiths latest run has given the Jets something they havent had much of lately: a quarterback moving up the franchise record book in a hurry. Through his first two games with New York, Smith has completed 70.8 percent of his passes and piled up 462 yards, production that has him 12th leaguewide in passing yards and already into 10th place on the Jets all-time list.
The climb is notable because it has come so quickly, with Smith now within striking distance of Ryan Fitzpatrick for ninth on that list. He has also thrown 29 touchdowns in green and white, which puts him 13th on the teams leaderboard and adds another layer to a start that has the Jets tracking his place in their history far earlier than many expected. [Read more 🡒]