NASHVILLE, TN—Although it came down to the wire, the New York Jets picked up their first victory of the season, edging the Tennessee Titans on the road, 24-17.
Robert Saleh’s defense started shaky, yet again, but the unit ultimately stiffened as the game went along. Offensively, Aaron Rodgers found a bit of a stride, finishing with 176 yards and two touchdowns on 18 of 30 passing.
Rodgers connected with Breece Hall on the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, while rookie Braelon Allen hit pay dirt twice—once on the ground and another time through the air.
It was not the fastest start for the offense, as Rodgers and the unit looked clunky in the first quarter. They were stuck in the same vanilla and boring structure that doomed many of their drives against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, the unit found some footing after moving to more of a wide-open look.
Before the end of the first half, Rodgers and company engineered a great drive to get the Jets into the end zone. Garrett Wilson had multiple third-down conversions, and Tyler Conklin had a great first down.
The star of the show was Braelon Allen, though. He had multiple nice catches and runs, including the one referenced earlier that turned into his first touchdown in the NFL.
TD for rookie @BraelonAllen!! 💨💨💨
📺 #NYJvsTEN on CBS & @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/A7Y4rgCdnL
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 15, 2024
Coming out of halftime, Rodgers led another great scoring drive to put the Jets up 14-10.
Breece Hall was the major contributor on that drive; he had a 30-yard run and a leaping catch for the score.
.@AaronRodgers12 to @BreeceH connection for a TD just hits different 😱
📺 #NYJvsTEN on CBS & @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/A7ZbScmU1e
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 15, 2024
The Jets had another great TD drive in the fourth quarter.
Rodgers hit Mike Williams and Garrett Wilson on two great passes, looking like his vintage self. Braelon Allen then continued his awesome game by ripping off a 20-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 24-17 lead.
The unit was not perfect by any means. The interior offensive line had some shaky plays in the second half. Nathaniel Hackett started poorly and went away from what worked in the second half, namely the two running back sets with Hall and Allen on the field.
Overall, though, New York showed positives. They have a nice foundation to build upon in the coming weeks of the 2024 season.
The defense has an uneven performance
While not as bad as the 49ers game, the Jets’ defense had a very up-and-down performance.
Despite Will Levis driving his Titans down into the Jets’ red zone late, the defense stopped them cold—to hold onto the victory.
Defensive end Jermaine Johnson was getting after the passer and looked much better in the run game. However, he departed with a crushing Achilles injury in the third quarter, which was and will be a significant blow to the defense. Head coach Robert Saleh said that “it looks like” a torn Achilles for the Florida State product.
Will McDonald was a force as a pass rusher, racking up three sacks. He also looked much better as a run defender.
Jamien Sherwood (who played for an injured C.J. Mosley) and Quincy Willaims flew around the field, limiting YAC and stuffing plays in their tracks. Tony Adams and Brandin Echols made great plays in coverage.
However, the negatives were still there.
Rushing lanes were mysteriously vacated, which caused big plays to occur. There was not a consistent pass rush for the team. The passing defense, namely Sauce Gardner, struggled to defend the pass down the field.
The effort was enough to beat the Titans, but going forward, New York needs to tighten up its unit at every level.
Penalties and Clock Management
Another problem for the Jets was their penalties and clock management.
New York had seven penalties for 70 yards on Sunday, outpacing the Titans’ mark of five penalties for 45 yards. The penalties occurred in various ways, such as roughing the passer or offensive holding.
Regardless of how they occurred, the Jets repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with penalties. They either gave the Titans chances to keep drives alive or ended their drives before they even started.
Additionally, the offense struggled with clock management issues. Aaron Rodgers had a few delays of games that cost the team yards, and Robert Saleh had to burn two second-half time out to make sure more penalties did not occur.
The Titans took advantage of some of the Jets’ miscues but not all of them. New York has the ability to clean up its discipline and clock issues, and it must do so fast. Otherwise, better teams will make New York pay for the unforced mistakes.
Other game notes
- Irvin Charles is the special teams’ ace. He had two big tackles on punt return plays and blocked a punt in the second half. If he continues this level of play, Chalres will be a game-changer.
- The offensive line’s pass blocking has been upper-tier. As the defense is banged up, the Jets will need this unit to keep Rodgers upright.
- Breece Hall and Braelon Allen need to be on the field together more. New York has found the most success in the two-running back sets. They need to utilize both players heavily as the offense gels together.
The now-1-1 Jets turn around quickly to open up MetLife Stadium against the New England Patriots this Thursday. It will be a challenging game on a short week; New England took the Seattle Seahawks down to the wire on Sunday, losing by a score of 23-20.
