Two weeks into his second chapter as the Jets' regular-season starting quarterback, Geno Smith maintains a calm but unshakable optimism about where he and his offense are headed. And where they're not headed, as in back to the bench after a turnover.
That's because the Jets have no giveaways. And Smith gave a smile when he talked about being the QB on only the second team in franchise history and the first in 55 years to have no TOs after the first two games of a season.
"I'm very sound in my decision-making," he said of fans and reporters noticing that goose egg nestled in this particular column. "I know what I'm doing out there. I'm always going to try to protect the team and protect the ball. Turnovers happen a number of ways, but we protect the team when we protect the ball.
"It's been an emphasis my entire career. You can make the right decision, the ball is tipped in the air and it's an interception. That's the way the game goes. But you have to be mindful of the process."
"It's a process" was the mantra of another recent Jets signal-caller. And Chad Pennington and Smith pop up together when one does some passing-game data-mining and finds that Pennington in 2004 and Smith are the only Green & White passers to complete 70% of their throws and commit no personal giveaways — INTs or lost fumbles — in the first two games of a season.
That doesn't mean that the offense installed this year by HC Aaron Glenn and OC Frank Reich has reached its pinnacle — work always remains to be done. Some have mentioned the downfield passing dimension was missing from the offense in Sunday's home-opening overtime loss to the Packers. Glenn didn't completely disagree.
"I wouldn't say that he's not pushing it downfield," Glenn said of Smith. "That's something we look at quite a bit as far as explosive plays, and I know from the first game that we had a good amount of them.
"This game we didn't have as many, and that's something that we want to make sure that we get back to doing this week. It's been an emphasis."
Smith and the Jets threw the ball downfield effectively at Tennessee, completing three passes of 30-plus yards for the first time since 2024. Rookie Omar Cooper Jr. had a dandy catch-and-run 30-yarder on his first pro reception, then Garrett Wilson (31 yards) and Adonai Mitchell (40 yards) combined for back-to-back third-quarter longball gains.
Green Bay's defense and the wet weather conspired to shorten the Jets' vision, but the downfield didn't totally disappear. Smith threw a few long incompletions, and Mitchell drew a 34-yard pass-interference penalty in the second quarter, tied for the second-longest penalty against a Jets opponent in the last five seasons.
The Jets returned to the practice field Wednesday ahead of their Week 3 game against the Lions at Ford Field.
Glenn, in the days before his return to his former Ford Field home from 2021-24 to play the Lions, said of Smith's early approach: "I think the thing he's doing a good job of is 'I'm going to see it, if it's there, I'm going to take it, if it's not there, I can get it down to one of these skill players and then get explosive plays by catch-and-run opportunities.' "
Detroit could be an opportunity to get that downfield game going. The Lions have yielded 6 passing touchdowns in the first two games, tied for second-most in the league, 6 passes of 25-plus yards, also tied for second, and 33 passing first downs, most in the league.
But as Smith and Glenn know, they also have edge Aidan Hutchinson to apply the pressure and separate Smith from the football if possible and former Jets ballhawk and top-tackling corner D.J. Reed among the weapons in their arsenal. Smith knows another Sunday challenge is in store for the Green & White offense.
He also trusts his defense to keep the Lions' explosive offense under as much control as possible. And he trusts in his offense to continue its upward trajectory.
"I think we have great potential, but it's all about the work we put in," Smith said. "It's Week 3 now. We're developing chemistry with one another. We've gone through training camp, preseason games with one another, and now two games into the season. I believe in the potential of this team and this offense because of the type of guys we have and the work we put in. I believe we have the pieces here. It just have to continue to blossom."
