Geno Smith has already given Jonathan Gannon plenty to think about, and that history matters again as the Jets prepare for Sunday’s home opener.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn does have a favorable track record of his own against Packers quarterback Jordan Love, but Smith’s past against Gannon may be the more useful edge. Gannon put it plainly this week: “He always plays well against me or us or whoever I’m with,” Gannon told reporters regarding Smith this week.
That assessment checks out. During Gannon’s first two seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach, Smith was with the Seattle Seahawks and faced Arizona four times as division rivals.
Seattle won all four, and Smith was sharp throughout the series: he completed 80 of 113 passes, a 70.8% clip, for 895 yards, 7.9 yards per attempt, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also lost one fumble, took seven sacks and finished with a 104.4 passer rating.
There is one important wrinkle to that matchup history. Gannon was not the play-caller for those games. Nick Rallis handled Arizona’s defensive calls, though it was still Gannon’s system, and Rallis had worked under him when Gannon was the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
The Packers’ current defense does not exactly make the challenge easier. Green Bay will be without Micah Parsons on Sunday as he continues recovering from the torn ACL he suffered late last season.
That absence has already shaped the Packers’ defensive outlook. They entered the season 0-5 in games without Parsons following his injury, including the game he exited, and after the Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, that mark is now 0-6.
In those games, Green Bay is allowing 30.5 points per contest.
Smith’s Week 1 showing gives the Jets another reason to feel good about the matchup. In New York’s 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans, he completed 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards, averaged 9.0 yards per attempt and posted a 104.0 passer rating without a turnover or a sack.
That kind of efficiency matters because Smith doesn’t have to carry everything by himself. When the pocket stays clean, he can make defenses pay with accuracy.
And the Jets do not need to lean only on the pass. They ran the ball 39 times in Week 1, compared to 24 pass attempts, which let Smith work without being forced into a do-it-all role.
That makes this week a useful test for how New York wants to operate offensively. Frank Reich may have benefited from opening the season against a defense with no film on the Jets’ new offense, so the Week 1 explosion could have been more of a snapshot than a permanent identity. But the Jets also showed they can run the ball effectively, with Breece Hall providing the burst and the offensive line holding up its end.
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 🡒]