The Jets may have a lot working in their favor against Green Bay in Week 2, but the one thing that can wreck a clean game plan is still sitting on the other sideline: Jordan Love.
That’s the tension in this matchup. New York has reasons to feel good - Aaron Glenn has a strong history against Love, Geno Smith has never lost against Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, and the forecast points toward rain at MetLife Stadium.
That kind of sloppy setting suits a Jets team that looks built for a bruising, grounded game. Add in a New York offensive line that was one of the NFL’s best in Week 1 and a Green Bay front that was one of the worst, and the setup tilts the Jets’ way.
There’s also the matter of Green Bay’s pass rush, which has struggled without edge rusher Micah Parsons. If the Jets protect well again, they can push the ball downfield against a Packers cornerback group that looks vulnerable. Garrett Wilson should have room to work, and that’s exactly the sort of matchup New York wants to exploit.
But Love changes the math.
He’s been uneven as Green Bay’s starter, yet his best games are loud enough to swing a week all by themselves. Since 2023, he has 24 games with a passer rating of 100.0 or better, tied with Matthew Stafford for fourth-most in the league behind Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Jared Goff.
Geno Smith has 16 in that same span, tied for 16th. And when Love is rolling, the Packers usually are too: in those 24 games with a 100.0+ passer rating, Green Bay went 20-3-1.
In every other game since 2023, the Packers are 9-19, including 4-11 on the road.
That’s why the Jets can’t just win the line of scrimmage and call it a day. If Love gets loose, he can erase the edge New York has built elsewhere. He’ll have to do it behind an offensive line that looked shaky and with an unproven running back room, but the Packers do have one major asset: their receivers.
That same warning sign showed up for the Jets in Week 1 against Tennessee. The Titans didn’t have a quarterback with Love’s ceiling, but they did bring a capable receiver group into a matchup with a Jets cornerback trio that had plenty to prove. The idea was simple: if Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate could separate early, Cam Ward could get the ball out quickly and make New York’s heavy blitz plan harder to unleash.
Instead, the Jets’ corners took over the game.
Brandon Stephens, Azareye’h Thomas and slot corner Jarvis Brownlee Jr. turned in a huge day in coverage. Ward went 11 of 19 for 80 yards and one garbage-time touchdown when throwing at New York’s corners.
That works out to just 4.2 yards per pass attempt. Outside of Thomas allowing the late touchdown, the Jets’ corners gave up only one first down on the other 18 throws their way.
That coverage was the trigger for everything else. Once Ward’s easy outlets disappeared, New York’s pressure started landing. The Jets were in his face all game, forcing him to scramble, eat sacks or throw the ball away.
That’s the formula Glenn likely wants again this week. He should blitz heavily, and there’s a clear reason for that.
Brian Flores and the Vikings showed the way in Week 1, blitzing Green Bay on 82.1% of its dropbacks and exposing a porous offensive line. But that kind of pressure only works if the corners can hold up long enough to make Love work for every throw.
Green Bay’s passing game was one of the league’s best in Week 1, finishing with a receiving grade of 78.6 from Pro Football Focus, third in the NFL. Love’s own 53.0 passing grade tells a different story: the pass catchers carried plenty of the load.
Christian Watson was the headliner, turning a slant into an 81-yard touchdown and finishing with six catches for 147 yards and two scores. Matthew Golden added six catches on a team-high 12 targets for 95 yards. Jayden Reed, Green Bay’s leading receiver in 2024, is still searching for a breakout after an injury-hit 2025 campaign and a quiet opener, when he caught three passes on seven targets for 20 yards.
The Packers also got production from the tight end spot, where Tucker Kraft and Jonnu Smith combined for five catches and 115 yards. That gives Green Bay another layer to test the Jets’ linebackers and safeties.
Altogether, the Packers had just one drop on Love’s 39 pass attempts. They may not have a single superstar receiver at the moment, though Watson could be headed there if this keeps up, but they do have a deep, balanced group that lets Love spread the ball around and attack different areas of the field.
That’s what makes this matchup so tricky for New York. The Jets’ secondary outperformed expectations against Tennessee, and that was the biggest reason they were able to blow the Titans out instead of merely survive.
But Week 2 is a different challenge. Love is a better quarterback than Ward, and he’s far more likely to punish mistakes, even if the weather gets messy.
So the ask for New York is straightforward: do it again, only against a tougher passing game. If the corners can back up Week 1 with another strong showing against Watson, Golden, Reed and the tight ends, the Jets’ secondary will start looking less like a question and more like a real strength.
For now, it’s just one standout game against Cam Ward. The next test will say a lot more.
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