Aaron Glenn doesn’t need a scouting report to know what Ben Johnson brings to the table.
As the Jets head into Week 4 for a road matchup with the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Glenn is preparing to face a familiar face from his time with the Detroit Lions. Johnson, once the offensive coordinator on that staff, is now running the Bears, and Glenn made it clear Wednesday that the respect between them runs deep.
“We were so competitive in move the ball situations on how we wanted to beat each other, but it made both of us better, I will say that,” Glenn said Wednesday about going up against Johnson during Lions practices, via the Jets’ official site. “He's a damn good coach.”
He added that the back-and-forth between the offensive and defensive sides helped sharpen both coaches.
“When you have coordinators, offensive and defensive coordinators, you're really planning practice,” Glenn said. “You're really planning the things you want to see against each other so the communication between me and him was always outstanding. ... Just talking offensive and defensive football was good to have.”
The Jets enter the game with a real chance to pull an upset, especially with the Bears dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball. Chicago is still 2-1 and has looked strong enough early to make this one a real test for New York.
That’s especially true after the Bears’ impressive win against the Philadelphia Eagles, even with Caleb Williams out. The question now is whether the Jets can do enough on both sides of the ball to keep pace.
Johnson’s rise has been hard to miss. He’s become one of the league’s most respected young offensive minds, and the Bears have already shown plenty under his watch. There’s still work to do in Chicago, but right now they look like the better team.
Sunday should tell a lot. The Bears have been scoring, the Jets have been competing, and both of those trends should make for a game worth watching if they hold up at Soldier Field.
In Other News...
Jets Loss Raised A Bigger Concern Than Just One Bad Sunday
The Jets left Week 4 with a 1-3 record, but the loss to the Bears felt like more than just another bad Sunday. Chicago kept the pressure on with a long, sustained offensive rhythm, running 89 plays and finding success both on the ground and through the air, which put New Yorks defense in chase mode for much of the afternoon. For a team trying to establish some early-season footing, that kind of imbalance is a warning sign as much as it is a loss.
Geno Smiths uneven day added to the unease, as he completed 8 of 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while the offense never really found a steady pulse. Garrett Wilson and other key pieces were not featured enough, which only sharpened the sense that this was not just about one quarterback or one game plan. The bigger concern is whether the Jets are already drifting into a pattern where both sides of the ball are too inconsistent to support a turnaround. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Backfield Question Just Got More Uncomfortable For Aaron Glenn
Isaiah Davis has become one of the quieter mysteries in the Jets backfield, and the timing has only made it more noticeable. Even with Breece Hall sidelined for a recent game because of injury, Davis did not get an offensive snap, while Braelon Allen handled all 14 carries in the loss to the Chicago Bears. For a third-year running back on a team still sorting out its rushing workload, that kind of usage raises obvious questions about how the Jets are viewing the depth chart.
Aaron Glenn has not publicly explained Daviss absence from the offense, and Davis himself has not addressed the lack of touches. In a backfield already under scrutiny, the silence only adds to the unease around how the Jets are managing their running backs and whether they have enough trust in the options behind Hall. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Have A New Reason To Revisit That Chippy Lions Loss
The Jets already had plenty to stew over from that chippy loss to Detroit, and the leagues latest accountability report added another layer to it. On Wednesday, the NFL fined Lions receiver Jameson Williams $23,417 for unnecessary roughness after helmet-to-helmet contact in the game against New York, a reminder of how heated that matchup got and how often the Lions were walking a line.
Williams has now been fined multiple times this season, including earlier penalties for taunting and illegal celebrations, and he was not the only Detroit player on the report. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jahmyr Gibbs also drew fines for celebrations and vulgar acts, giving Jets fans a fresh reason to revisit a game that already carried more edge than the final score suggested. [Read more 🡒]