NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Aaron Glenn got the better of Robert Saleh on Sunday, and the New York Jets made sure the result was never really in doubt.
New York rolled to a 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, using a defense that suffocated the home team and an offense that controlled the game long enough to put it away early in the second half. It was Glenn’s second season opener with the Jets, and it looked nothing like last year’s start, when New York didn’t win until Week 8 and finished 3-14 without a single victory by more than seven points.
The Jets were already in command by halftime, leading 10-3, and then came out after the break and scored on their first two possessions to open things up. Tennessee added a late touchdown, but New York still finished with its biggest margin of victory since Week 3 of 2024.
The Titans had almost nothing going for them on offense. They were held to 55 yards in the first half and 195 for the game, and second-year quarterback Cam Ward completed 19 of 32 passes for 140 yards. For a team hoping Ward would take a real step forward in Year 2, this was a rough way to start.
The Jets didn’t get through the afternoon cleanly, though. Starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left with a groin injury in the first half, and first-round rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper went out with an ankle injury and did not return. Cooper was hurt at the end of a 30-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive.
Glenn, calling the defense, had his unit ready from the jump. He barely blitzed, but he didn’t need to.
The secondary - one of the biggest question marks on the roster - handled what Tennessee threw at it, while the Jets were disciplined against the pass and firm against the run. Even after losing Fitzpatrick early, New York’s defense looked more talented and better prepared than the group that played under Steve Wilks last season.
Saleh was on the other sideline calling plays for the Titans’ defense, a job he never had as Jets head coach, and that side of the ball didn’t swing the day back Tennessee’s way. Frank Reich had the cleaner game plan on offense, and the Titans’ defensive front, even with Jeffery Simmons leading it, didn’t make much of an impact against a Jets offensive line that had a productive afternoon. New York leaned on the run, bled the clock, and set up Geno Smith to make efficient throws downfield.
Ward’s day was even more discouraging when you zoom in on the numbers and the tape. Through three quarters, he posted a -0.38 EPA per dropback against the Jets, matching the worst mark among 42 qualifying quarterbacks last season - Brady Cook’s -0.38 EPA per dropback for New York.
The fourth quarter didn’t help. Ward ran out of bounds on third down and took a sack from David Bailey, then later took another sack near his own end zone and nearly gave up a safety.
He looked unready, and Tennessee didn’t give him much help.
Daboll’s role in that mess stood out too. He came into the job with a reputation for play calling and quarterback development, built in part on his work with Josh Allen in Buffalo.
He won Coach of the Year with the Giants in 2022 after getting a career year out of Daniel Jones. Since then, the returns have been ugly, aside from some Jaxson Dart flashes last year.
Sunday looked like the same old problems - no real answer for obvious weak spots in the Jets’ defense, especially in the slot, where New York was banged up, and no way to get the running game going.
On the other side, Reich made a strong first impression in his NFL return after not coaching in a game since the Panthers fired him midway through the 2023 season. The year before that, the Colts let him go in the middle of the season as well.
His best stretch as a play caller came right away. He found rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who missed most of training camp, and used him creatively, including a handoff for a touchdown to cap a scoring drive.
The Jets’ third possession was a long, methodical 19-play march that ended in a field goal, though it could have been a touchdown if not for a bad snap by center Josh Myers in the red zone. Later in the second quarter, New York chewed up most of the clock on a drive that featured 15 runs before stalling out after a false start and a Braelon Allen catch that was punched loose by Titans linebacker Anthony Hill. Jason Sanders converted from 33 yards, then later missed badly from 54 yards, but the miss didn’t matter in the end.
The third quarter brought the knockout punch. Geno Smith connected on a 40-yard bomb to Adonai Mitchell, a pairing that had shown chemistry throughout training camp, and Breece Hall finished the drive with a touchdown run to push the Jets ahead 17-3. From there, New York had the game exactly where it wanted it.
In Other News...
Robert Saleh Sounds Early Alarm After Titans Opener Unravels
The Titans season opener against the Jets never settled into the kind of rhythm Tennessee wanted, and by the end of a 23-10 loss, the issues were easy enough to spot. Head coach Robert Saleh pointed to missed throws from quarterback Cam Ward and a Jets running game that kept the Titans from finding much traction, leaving Tennessee with more questions than answers after one week.
Salehs postgame tone made clear this was less about one bad afternoon than about getting a team to tighten up before the schedule moves on. He was frustrated with how it unfolded, but the message was plain: the Titans have to clean up the execution quickly if they want the early part of the season to mean anything. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Already Face Early Heat After This Lifeless Home Opener
The Titans home opener turned into an ugly reset in front of a restless crowd, with the Jets leaving Nashville with a 23-10 win and a clear sense of momentum under first-year coach Aaron Glenn. It also marked a notable step forward for New York, which picked up its first winning record since early 2024 behind a steady debut from Glenn and offensive coordinator Frank Reich, plus solid work from Geno Smith and Breece Hall.
For Tennessee, the louder story was the reaction inside the building. The home crowd booed as the Titans sputtered through a flat afternoon, a sign of how quickly the early-season pressure can build when a game slips away at home. The schedule does not ease up from here, either, with Philadelphia next on the slate and little time for Tennessee to let this one linger. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Still Have One Big Problem Despite Staying Within Reach
At halftime against the Jets, the Titans were still hanging around, but the reasons for the gap on the scoreboard looked familiar. A short catch by rookie Carnell Tate gave him his first reception of the season, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was busy again with nine tackles, and Chimere Dike managed a grab after putting the ball on the ground on a kick return. Tennessee had enough individual flashes to stay within striking distance, even while the offense continued searching for steadier answers.
The bigger concern was on the other side of the ball, where Alontae Taylor had a rough stretch in coverage and was flagged for pass interference. For a team trying to keep games close and create opportunities late, that kind of breakdown is costly because it erases the work done elsewhere. The Titans were still alive at the break, but the defensive margin for error already looked thin. [Read more 🡒]