Penalties, errors, and a clumsy offense plagued the Jets.
Cease me if you happen to’ve heard this sentence earlier than.
Within the earlier three seasons, the Jets ranked within the high 5 defensively.
However that was below former Jets coach Robert Saleh and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. By way of two video games this season below first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, the Jets’ protection doesn’t resemble something from the final three seasons.
Living proof, the Payments steamrolled the Jets 30-10 in a recreation that, fairly frankly, was not as shut as the ultimate rating indicated. Gang Inexperienced allowed 224 speeding yards and three speeding touchdowns.
Most of that got here from James Prepare dinner, who completed with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. It was essentially the most speeding yards the Jets have allowed since 2021, a season wherein they completed 4-13.
“I would say there wasn’t a challenge,” Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood stated. “There was a battle. Once more, self-inflicted wounds.
“We now have to remain in our gaps. We have to get downhill quicker. We have to use our fingers strategies. We now have to depend on all of our preparation.
“We have to see formations. We have to adjust on the sidelines. We all have to be on one quarter, but we’ll get there. Believe and trust in the process.”
Within the season-opening 34-32 loss to the Steelers, the Jets protection allowed ex-teammate Aaron Rodgers to go for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns. Gang Inexperienced did job containing Josh Allen. He accomplished 14-of-25 passes for 148 yards and was held and not using a landing go or run.
Nonetheless, the Jets protection couldn’t cease Prepare dinner the whole day. On his 44-yard landing run, Prepare dinner made a number of gamers miss on his technique to the top zone, together with Sherwood.
“I was surprised to hear we had that many rushing yards,” Jets security Andre Cisco stated. “I felt like that was going to be a priority the best way it ended up being, going into the week, realizing, clearly, James Prepare dinner is a good again, however we ended up giving up lots of yards right here, so I’ll check out that.
It simply wasn’t the speeding yards allowed that have been alarming for the Jets, however so have been the miscues all through the afternoon. The Jets dedicated simply 5 penalties for 35 yards, but it surely appeared like each one in all them was backbreaking.
On Allen’s 40-yard run within the first quarter, Jets cornerback Michael Carter II was referred to as for a holding, which gave Buffalo a further 5 yards. Then, on the identical drive on third and 19 on the Jets’ 30-yard line, Jets defensive finish Micheal Clemons was flagged for roughing the passer after he hit Allen excessive.
Glenn was irate on the sideline and he took Clemons out of the sport briefly earlier than he later returned on the subsequent drive. Nonetheless, the harm was carried out after Prepare dinner discovered the top zone for his first of two touchdowns.
The penalty swung momentum and ended up being a four-point swing.
“The thing is, we know they call that call when you hit the quarterback high, when you hit him in the head and neck area,” Glenn stated. “That’s just what they’re calling now, so we have to be smarter than that.”
Errors weren’t simply unique to the defensive aspect of the ball in opposition to the Payments. The Jets offense couldn’t get off the runway every week after registering 394 yards within the loss to the Steelers.
Buffalo held Gang Inexperienced to simply 154 yards, with lots of that coming when the sport was already determined late within the fourth quarter. Throughout their second offensive drive, Payments go rusher Joey Bosa stripped Jets quarterback Justin Fields throughout his scramble and teammate A.J. Epenesa recovered the ball in Jets territory on the 24-yard line. That arrange a 28-yard area purpose by Matt Prater, which elevated the Payments result in 10-0.
Fields was inaccurate after finishing 3 of 11 passes for simply 27 yards. He was additionally sacked twice and pressured a bulk of the afternoon, which induced him to have a number of errant passes, together with one to Garrett Wilson on a 3rd down on the primary drive.
Fields exited the sport within the fourth quarter after he hit his head on the turf following Bosa’s sack and suffered a concussion. Tyrod Taylor got here in for Fields, and he accounted for the Jets’ lone landing of the day after he accomplished a five-yard landing go to Jeremy Ruckert with 3:30 remaining.
“Apparently, I didn’t have the guys ready to play,” Glenn stated. “So, no matter we see on tape, and we’ve got to be trustworthy with ourselves with what we see on tape, we’ve got to repair these issues. And that’s simply the best way this league is.
“And it’s not okay. It’s not okay to lose like that. And I’m not a big fan of sitting here and telling everybody, ‘Guys, it’s okay.’ No, no, you don’t just lose like that and it’s okay. What it is, man, is you go back to work and you still have to fix those problems that you saw on tape, and you move on to next week. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
The street doesn’t get any simpler for the Jets after starting the season 0-2. They are going to have back-to-back street journeys in Florida starting in opposition to the Buccaneers. Then they may journey to play division rival Miami, a spot they haven’t gained since 2014, which was Rex Ryan’s remaining recreation as Jets coach.
An NFL group can begin the season with a 0-3 file and nonetheless make the playoffs, however it’s traditionally uncommon. Solely six groups have achieved it since 1979, with the latest instance being the 2018 Texans.
“There’s a lot of guys that want to come in and compete with us,” Cisco stated. “And so you bought to grasp nothing is ready in stone, I feel, began utilizing us. How I take a look at it, such as you need the group to be in that as a group transfer ahead.
“We want wins, and we need them now. You know, it’s just not going to be where you want to hang around and hopefully come together. We want to be able to compete.”
Initially Revealed: September 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM EDT
