The New York Jets came out of Week 1 looking like a team that had spent the offseason building toward exactly this kind of afternoon.
A 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans gave the Jets the kind of offensive debut they had been hoping for, with Geno Smith steering the attack through long, controlled drives and taking shots down the field when the opportunity was there. For a unit that entered the year with plenty of buzz, Sunday was the first real proof that the pieces can fit together.
The run game was the clearest strength. New York’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and created clean lanes all day, especially for Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
Hall finished with 22 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. Allen added 10 carries for 40 yards, and he also had a touchdown erased by a Josh Myers holding call.
The Jets also opened the game with a statement drive, something they had not done since opening day 2016. Their first possession of the season ended in the end zone, and that early score helped set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
That drive got a major boost from an out-of-bounds kick by Joey Slye, which gave New York the ball at its own 40-yard line. From there, rookie Omar Cooper Jr. broke off a 30-yard catch and run to the Tennessee 4, putting the Jets in position to finish. Kenyon Sadiq, the No. 16 overall pick in this past April’s draft, punched it in on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Sadiq’s score carried a little extra note. He hit a top speed of 20.09 miles per hour on the play, the fastest by a Jets tight end in the Next Gen Stats era.
The day was not perfectly clean from start to finish. The Jets had some uneven moments, and the offense got sloppy at the end of the first half. They also lost rookie Omar Cooper Jr. early when he exited with an ankle injury.
Still, the overall picture was encouraging. Smith was sharp, finishing 19 of 24 for 215 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and if he keeps playing like that, this offense has a chance to be exactly what people expected it could be: fast, productive and fun.
In Other News...
Jets Fans Turned This Win Into A Robert Saleh Referendum
The Jets opened the season with a convincing 23-10 win over Tennessee, and the game quickly turned into something bigger than a routine Week 1 result. New Yorks defense kept the Titans under 200 yards of total offense, while Geno Smith was efficient throughout, finishing 19 of 24 for 215 yards and helping the Jets control the day in a way that had the home crowd buzzing.
What made the afternoon stand out even more was the reaction from the stands, where Jets fans voiced their support for former coach Aaron Glenn while also keeping the focus on the man now on the other sideline. Robert Saleh, fired by the Jets in October 2024, remains a sore spot for plenty of fans, and this win only sharpened that feeling as the postgame mood turned into something of a referendum on his tenure. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Win Still Left Fans With One Big Worry Before Packers
The Jets opened the season with a 23-10 win over the Titans, and there was enough encouraging early work to make the result feel solid even if it was not especially polished. Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper helped set the tone right away, while the defense and special teams did enough to keep Tennessee from ever making it feel like a real threat.
Still, the win came with a few issues that could linger into the Packers matchup. Injuries to Omar Cooper Jr., Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jarvis Brownlee were all part of the afternoon, and Jason Sanders, elevated from the practice squad, went 3-for-4 on field goals after missing from 54 yards. The Jets got the result they needed, but the health and kicking questions are not the kind of loose ends a team wants hanging around this early. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Already Have One Uncomfortable Question About Aaron Glenns Kicker
The Jets went into Week 1 with Jason Sanders holding the kicking job, even after a shaky preseason and a competition with Blake Grupe that suggested the position was anything but settled. New York had already shown it was willing to keep the door open on alternatives, including a workout with Justin Tucker, which made Sanders margin for error feel slim from the start.
Sanders then missed a critical fourth-and-8 field goal attempt that would have extended the Jets lead, a miss that only sharpened the uncertainty around his standing. For Aaron Glenn and the Jets, the bigger issue now is less about what happened on one kick and more about whether they can afford to keep waiting for the answer at a position that can swing games fast. [Read more 🡒]