The Jets are running out of runway, and Aaron Glenn is feeling the heat after another ugly loss, this time to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8.
New York’s slide has left Glenn at 5-20 as head coach of the team he once played for, and the latest defeat only deepened the sense that the season is slipping away. The Raiders came in on a four-game losing streak, but the Jets made them look far more dangerous than that, especially on defense.
Las Vegas moved the ball with ease, going 7-of-11 on third down. Kirk Cousins kept the Jets chasing all afternoon, repeatedly finding tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer for key conversions while piling up four total touchdowns. For a defense that needed a response, it was another flat showing at the worst possible time.
After the game, Glenn was left answering the same difficult questions again.
"Listen, I can sit here and talk about how close we are, but that's not going to do us any good at all. We got to improve.
We got to improve to make sure that we get on the other side of that. One thing I can say is, man, our guys play with effort."
That line came after Ashton Jeanty’s comments earlier in the week questioning the Jets’ effort on defense, and Sunday was supposed to be the chance to push back. Instead, the performance only reinforced the bigger problem: effort may not be the issue, but the team keeps looking like it isn’t being put in position to succeed.
The struggles weren’t limited to the defense, either. Special teams added another wound when Dylan Laube returned a kick for a touchdown, the first and only kick return score in the 2026 NFL season so far. That kind of breakdown is the sort of thing that turns a bad day into a crisis.
Chris Banjo, who had been viewed as a rising head coaching candidate after the 2025 season, may now be staring at uncertainty of his own. And with the losses stacking up, the pressure on Glenn is only growing louder.
Whether the Jets actually make a midseason move remains to be seen. But with each defeat, it becomes harder to imagine Woody Johnson letting this keep going much longer.
In Other News...
Jets Fans Had One Immediate Question Watching Ashton Jeanty
Watching the Raiders-Jets game in Week 8, the immediate wrinkle for New York fans was Ashton Jeantys role, or lack of one. He was on the field for third downs, but he did not get a touch in the first quarter while backup Mike Washington handled six carries in that stretch, a usage pattern that stood out in a game where the Jets were already trying to sort through plenty of moving parts.
Jeanty eventually got his first touch early in the second quarter, but the opening frame still raised the obvious question about why the Raiders were leaning elsewhere. His recent struggles and his comments about the Jets defense were part of the conversation, yet there was no clear explanation for the early-game deployment, leaving the situation a little murky for anyone trying to read into it. [Read more 🡒]
Braelon Allen Is Forcing A Jets Debate They Didnt Expect
The Jets are getting close to having their offense back in one piece, with Breece Hall and left guard Dylan Parham both nearing returns. But Braelon Allens run as the lead back has complicated what once looked like a simple handoff back to the starter. Allen has handled the job well enough to turn a temporary absence into a real conversation about roles, workload and how much the Jets want to lean on the rookie once the backfield is whole again.
For a team trying to stabilize its offense, the timing makes this more than a routine depth-chart question. Hall remains the more established name, and the front office now has to weigh whether a crowded backfield is a strength or a chance to turn a valuable asset into help elsewhere before the trade deadline. For now, the safer play is to keep both backs in the building and sort out the carries later, but Allens emergence has made that decision far less tidy than the Jets probably expected. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Need Their Offense To Wake Up Before Skid Gets Worse
The Jets are trying to stop the slide before it turns into something bigger, and the timing of Sundays meeting with the Raiders gives them a chance to do it at home. New York is 2-5 after back-to-back losses, while Las Vegas arrives at 3-4 and also trying to snap a four-game skid, so this one has the feel of a team that badly needs a clean offensive showing to steady itself.
For the Jets, the path is pretty clear: get Garrett Wilson more involved, protect the football and hope Omar Cooper Jr. can keep giving the passing game a lift. The offense has been uneven enough that every possession matters, and with both teams searching for answers, New York cannot afford another sluggish start if it wants to keep the season from drifting further off course. [Read more 🡒]