The Jets are taking steps and improving in multiple categories. If they can regain their footing offensively Sunday against the Carolina Panthers (3-3), they might be in the line to secure their first victory of the 2025-26 season.
"The thing right now is, man we have to do that consistently, and they understand that, and we've talked about that," said HC Aaron Glenn. "And if we could do that as a defense, continue to play special teams like we are and then continue to improve on offense – I want to improve on offense – we'll be just fine. And plus, do those things that I talked about before with penalties, takeaways, and turnovers. That's part of our brand that we have to make sure that we do well each week."
Got to Take Accountability
Returning home after their finest effort, the Jets' defense thrived overseas against the Broncos while holding Denver to a season-low 248 yards and forcing 6 three-and-outs. They also recorded a safety and CB Justin Brownlee, acquired from Tennessee on Sep. 23, forced a Troy Franklin fumble that was recovered by S Andre Cisco for the unit's first takeaway. The Jets' defense leads the NFL with a 32.3% three-and-out rate and they played their most complete game after players came together to clear the air.
"I think anytime when you have a meeting like that, I think a lot of things come out of it, and the biggest thing that I took is really the accountability that all the guys wanted to make sure that everyone was taking accountability," said defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. "And when I say everyone, when it got back to me, I expressed to them that, as coaches, we got to take accountability. You know, we all are in this together and it was one of those things that we all wanted to make sure that we focus on the details and everything that we were doing that particular week. That's what you saw."
Find That Healthy Balance
With the defense headed in the right direction and the Jets fielding on of the league's top special teams units, the offense is in bounce-back mode after being neutralized in a 13-11 loss to the Broncos last Sunday in London.
"One group takes a turn playing well, another doesn't," said C Josh Myers. "The offense plays well; the defense doesn't. The defense plays well; the offense doesn't. Like, we just haven't found a way to put it all together. So, just chasing that relentlessly."
Jets QB Justin Fields, who was held to 9 completions and was sacked 9 times against Denver, has completed 65% of his passes with 4 TDs and 0 INTs over five starts. Although he might be without the services of star WR Garrett Wilson, Fields would like to attack more against the Panthers.
"I feel like I've been a little bit too conservative in a sense, probably just be a little bit more aggressive," Fields said. "I've always just been big on ball security and not putting the ball in jeopardy, but it comes to a point where you just have to find that healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip."
The Panthers, still undefeated at home and winless on the road, have ripped into the Dolphins and the Cowboys the past two games with a punishing run game. Rico Dowdle ran over Miami with 203 yards in a 27-24 win on Oct. 5 and then the former Cowboys RB amassed 219 yards from scrimmage in the Cats' 30-27 win over Dallas last Sunday.
"They do a really good job schematically on these hawk returners or slice blocks with the tight ends and the tight ends do a really good job of aiming at the thigh board of the defensive end to make sure the running back has a two-way go in that aspect," Glenn said. "This running back is running hard, he's running downhill. It's hard to bring this guy down and you see that, and it seemed like he had something against Dallas when he played against them."
The Ultimate Goal
The Jets are becoming a more disciplined team. They were charged with just two penalties against the Broncos for 15 yards marked off. But despite all the tangible progress, they know more is needed to capture a win.
"Sometimes good isn't good enough," said DT Harrison Phillips. "There's a handful of plays that enough players wanted to get back. We want to win, and so obviously playing great defense is something that we want to do as well, but the ultimate goal is to earn a win. We fell short of that, so I don't know if that means a player only meeting or finding time with leadership to meet together and say this is what we accomplished last week, things that we said we wanted to do – those are now our standard. Is there another piece or two that we can add in to do just a little bit more? And we'll continue to search for just a little bit more until we've earned a win."
Glenn, who called the 3-3 Panthers an "emerging" team, believes the bricks for future success are being laid. But the construction site is a tough place and heavy lifting remains.
"You just can't throw things out there and just have an unstable foundation and expect for things to be just right," he said. "To consistently win, I do know this, there has to be improvement, and to me, I saw improvement within that game. Does that mean that we're going to go on this bill of winning every one of our games? No, but I know this, it gives us a better chance to win. I know everybody wants to win, but nobody wants to go through the hard stuff, and that's what we're going through right now. We're going through the hard times to put ourselves in positions to win."
