One of the few bright spots in the Jets’ 3-14 season last year was special teams, which played at a historic level for stretches and finished No. 1 in the NFL in DVOA by a wide margin. That kind of performance doesn’t just happen by accident, and it helped push coordinator Chris Banjo into the conversation as one of the league’s rising coaching names.
That’s why the first two weeks of 2025 have been such a jolt.
New York’s special teams DVOA sits at -7.5%, which ranks 26th in the league. After Week 1, the Jets were only at No. 11, so the unit was at least holding its own. The slide against the Packers changed the picture fast.
There’s no getting around how messy that game was. Isaiah Williams muffed two punts, and the Jets escaped both without a turnover.
He also drew an invalid fair catch signal penalty in what was already a rough afternoon. Qwan'Tez Stiggers added an illegal block in the back, piling on the mistakes.
The conditions may not have been ideal, but that only explains so much. The Packers handled things cleaner, and Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur even gave his return man, Skyy Moore, the game ball for his work.
Moore was a problem all afternoon. He ripped off long returns on both punts and kickoffs, including a 63-yard punt return in the fourth quarter that set up the Packers’ game-tying field goal and helped send the game to overtime.
That sequence featured multiple Jets misses in coverage. Moore also brought back a kick 43 yards.
The Jets have made clear strides on offense and defense, but special teams can still undo all of that if it keeps slipping. Banjo has to get the unit cleaned up, from the penalties to the tackling to the overall discipline, while also hoping Jason Sanders keeps steady in the kicking game.
Last year’s success created expectations. Now Banjo has to meet them.
If he does, it confirms the Jets really do have a strength there. If he doesn’t, it starts looking like that breakout was more about the players than the coach.
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