Like the two-faced Roman god Janus, head coach Aaron Glenn heads into the new year and into the Jets' final game of 2025 glaring back with a bit of a frown and a furrowed brow yet simultaneously gazing ahead with a small smile and a glint in his eye.
"The things I'm looking at and looking forward to, No. 1 is seeing how we operate against this playoff team," Glenn said before Wednesday's New Year's Eve practice of the season finale at the Bills. About his own unit, he said: "There has been some improvement with this team and we're going to continue to try to improve on those things, while we also are trying to improve on the weaknesses that we have. So that will be the focus this week, to make sure we do that."
Dealing with the team metrics and rankings only, rather than diving too deeply into individual play, Glenn itemized those several positives: improvements in the running game, on special teams and in penalty reduction. The negatives he named were the overall defense and the offensive passing game. Here are some quotes and stats to highlight the HC's thinking about his first season at the Jets helm with one game to go:
Running Game
AG's Take: "In '24, I think we were last in the league as far as running the ball, in '23 we were in the bottom 10. We got ourselves to where we're in the top seven right now. So that was a huge emphasis, and I'm proud of the way our guys went about that and of Breece Hall gaining 1,000 yards."
Metrics: Hall's top games, plays and season have been noted as he climbed into four-figure rushing territory against the Patriots. Teamwise, the coach's research was nearly spot on. The Jets tied for 22nd (or tied for 10th-least) at 96.9 rushing yards/game in '23. Last season they were 31st at 91.8 yards/game.
This season the Jets have ranked in the top 10 in rush yards/game after every one of the 17 weeks already in the books and they're sitting at No. 7 this week. Also, their yards/carry comes in sixth-best at 4.68, a figure that, if they can hold it against the Bills, would be the second-best season figure in franchise history, behind only the 4.75 yards/carry in 2008.
Special Teams
AG's Take: "We've become one of the elite special teams units across the league, even on some of the small-detail things that people really don't look at."
Metrics: Glenn was referencing field goal blocks, two of which the Jets suffered last year and one the year before. This year the operation has gone unblocked — not to mention returning one of their kick rejections, by Will McDonald, for a TD at Tampa Bay.
The clean operation has played its part in the Jets' kicking-game success. Led by Nick Folk, they are No. 1 in the NFL in FG accuracy (96.6%) and, led by Austin McNamara, fifth in net punting average (43.3 and likely to finish with a franchise-record net after Buffalo) and fourth in yards allowed/punt return (6.6). The return games have been well-documented, with Isaiah Williams and Kene Nwangwu piloting the way to the league's No. 1 team KO-return average (30.0) and Williams guiding the punt-return unit to No. 7.
Penalty Reduction
AG's Take: "We were dead last in the league when it came to penalties for two years straight. This year I think we're somewhere [around] 17th, so that's a huge improvement for our guys."
The Metrics: The Jets were 32nd in the NFL in penalties committed in both '23 (124 penalties) and '24 (137). Iin penalty yards committed, they were 29th in '23 and 32nd with 1,134 yards marked off against them last season. This year, despite the losses in which penalties became an issue, the Jets showed a marked reduction in their penalty production — they moved up from 32nd to tied for 18th (106 penalties) and from last to 21st in penalty yards (882).
Defense / Passing Offense
AG's Take: "i know there are some things we have to clean up. As we go forward, there are some things we're looking at, and that's our defense and our passing game on offense."
Metrics: Glenn isn't sugarcoating either issue, nor is he alibiing, although youth and injuries have certainly had their impacts in both areas.
The defense's total yards allowed/game is 348.4, 23rd in the league, their lowest ranking in four years. They come in 27th against the run (135.0 yards allowed/game), again their lowest since 2021. The point prevention has tumbled lately to 30th as the Jets in December allowed their four opponents to average 38.3 points/game and three of the four to open games with at least three consecutive TD drives.
The passing game, with three starting QBs and key injuries to strong pass-catchers at WR, TE and RB, has averaged 145.8 net passing yards/game, which is 32nd this week and could finish last in the NFL for the first time since 2014.
With all the talk of pluses and minuses, stats and rankings, Glenn was asked how he might evaluate himself after his first season as an NFL head coach.
"How have I operated when it comes to game management situations? That's the first thing I want to look at," he said. "Also, the hiring process, picking players, all those things. Are we actually doing the things we say we want to do as far as how we want to build this foundation of players, of coaches, of how do I operate in-game. All those things I try and evaluate.
"And does it mean I did the wrong things? No, I just get to sit back and look at it and make sure I'm doing the right things. I mean, there's some things I know I have to clean up, no doubt. But there are other things where I went, 'OK, did I go about this the right way? Yeah, I did, I'm good, let's go on to the next one.' "
