The Green Bay Packers have one of the best two-way defensive lines in the NFL. In 2024, the Packers were one of only three teams to record 45+ sacks and allow under 4.0 yards per carry.
And on Saturday night, that unit’s first-team defensive line was steamrolled by the New York Jets’ first-team offensive line in both phases.
It was a tantalizing display of potential from the unit that projects to carry New York’s hopes and dreams on its back. Whereas most teams rely on their quarterback to lift the organization, the Jets will be banking on their offensive line to lift their quarterback – and everyone else along with him.
The Jets want to be a run-first football team to take pressure off their limited quarterback, Justin Fields. And when they do ask Fields to drop back and pass, they want to ask as little of him as possible, helping him avoid the killer mistakes that have plagued his professional career.
Saturday’s exhibition victory provided a glimpse of that formula.
Jets’ offensive line marches its way through Wisconsin
Green Bay had critical front-seven players like Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Lukas Van Ness, and Edgerrin Cooper on the field, but it didn’t matter. The Jets shoved them all the way down the field and called it a night.
New York’s first-team offense registered a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to open the game. With no spectacular catches, needle-threading passes, or breakaway runs, it was a methodical drive facilitated by the offensive line.
The front-five’s success began with the run game. The Jets’ running backs registered four carries for 23 yards on the drive, a 5.8-yard average that, if replicated, will win New York plenty of games.
More important than the YPC mark is New York’s consistency. The Jets gained at least two yards on all four running back carries. While two yards is a low bar to clear, the Jets will go far if they can hit that minimum threshold with elite consistency.
On the game’s first set of downs, Breece Hall recorded back-to-back carries for two and three yards to set up a third-and-5. Obviously, the Jets would have loved to gain more than five yards on those two plays, but since they at least recorded two gains of multiple yards, they set up a third-and-manageable situation for Fields.
Then, Fields was able to move the chains with a simple checkdown. That option probably would not have been available if the Jets were stuffed on their early-down runs and ended up in a third-and-long.
If Hall’s first down run gained zero yards instead of two, the Jets likely would have passed on second down, which would have had a decent chance of yielding a sack or an incompletion, ultimately burying New York in a third-and-long. Instead, a modest positive gain kept things moving forward, and the Jets churned their way to a third-down situation that their limited field general could handle.
We saw this again later on the drive. Hall ran for four yards on first down. On second down, Fields tucked and ran for one yard instead of forcing a difficult throw into tight coverage. It set up another third-and-5, and from there, Fields took off with his legs and scored a touchdown.
This will be the Jets’ philosophy in 2025. They do not want to ask much from Fields’ arm. The goal is to keep the ball moving forward and avoid burying Fields into unfavorable situations that could prompt him to do something reckless.
In 2024, the Jets gained two-plus yards on 67.7% of their rush attempts. It wasn’t a terrible mark, placing 16th in the NFL, but the Jets need to be much better than that in 2025 to give Fields the best chance to succeed.
And behind this offensive line, they have a chance to lead the NFL in that category.
Consistent positive run-blocking
The Jets’ first-team offensive line consistently moved the line of scrimmage, giving Hall and Allen enough room to at least break the line of scrimmage for positive yardage.
They did this without starting left guard John Simpson, who missed the game with a back injury. Nonetheless, the other four starters – left tackle Olu Fashanu, left guard Joe Tippmann, right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, and right tackle Armand Membou – took care of business.
Allen and Hall finished the game with zero missed tackles forced apiece. The fact that they kept the Jets’ offense on schedule despite not breaking any tackles is an indicator of how much room the offensive line created for them.
It was Simpson’s replacement, Josh Myers, who held the offensive line back from running the ball even better. Myers started at center while Tippmann slid to left guard. Pro Football Focus rated Myers with a team-worst 46.4 run-blocking grade in the game, as Myers could be seen allowing penetration multiple times on film.
With Simpson back in the fold, things could get scary for New York’s opponents.
We need to see it for more than four plays in a preseason contest, but this was a sneak peek of what the Jets are envisioning from their offensive line in the run game.
They have big things planned in the passing game, too.
Jets lock Packers down in pass protection
Across six dropbacks, Fields was pressured only once, a minimal pressure rate of 16.7%.
Even on that one play, the pressure was far from catastrophic. There was minor interior pressure courtesy of Myers, but Fashanu and Membou had the edges locked down, giving Fields the space he needed to climb the pocket and scramble for a touchdown. Vera-Tucker also provided Membou with some late help to open the lane even wider for Fields.
On the rest of Fields’ dropbacks, Green Bay did not lay a finger on him. While Fields got the ball out fairly quickly on most of his plays, the Jets’ pristine pass protection was still a boon. With gaping windows in front of him, Fields could always see the field and deliver the ball cleanly.
Fields’ pockets generally looked quite cushy compared to what he was accustomed to in Chicago.
Fashanu, Tippmann, Vera-Tucker, and Membou combined to allow zero pressures on 28 pass-blocking snaps. Membou stayed in for the second drive and played 10 pass-blocking snaps, while the other three starters played six apiece.
Membou looked particularly impressive, holding his own on an island multiple times. This rep jumped off the screen.
New coach, new era
The Jets’ offensive line has been labeled “talented” on paper for multiple years now. In fact, the current unit is not all that different from last year’s. Four of the five projected starters were already on the team.
Yet, the unit struggled on a yearly basis to play up to its talent level. Injuries played a part in that, but the unit faltered even when it was at full strength.
That comes down to coaching.
From 2023 to 2024, the Jets’ offensive line was coached by Keith Carter. Formerly the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line coach, Carter developed a negative reputation among players. Longtime NFL fullback Patrick DiMarco once said in an Instagram post that “Keith Carter was nobody’s favorite coach, and I can say that with a lot of confidence.” Multiple Jets players, such as Breece Hall and Mekhi Becton, echoed those sentiments.
It showed on the field. New York’s offensive line lacked cohesion under Carter. While the collective talent level may have been above-average, they struggled to play as one, leading to results that were less than the sum of the parts.
Things could be headed in the opposite direction under new offensive line coach Steve Heiden. This is Heiden’s first rodeo as an NFL offensive line coach, but he is off to a strong start. Even after the Jets’ starters left Saturday’s game, New York’s offensive front continued to play with physicality and cohesion throughout the night.
Just look at the execution on this screen pass to Stone Smartt, which results in a touchdown.
The offensive line’s timing and angles on this play can only be a product of coaching. For a backup unit to work in lockstep to this degree, they must be tremendously well-coached.
New York’s starters did not go deep into the playbook on Saturday, but if Heiden has the second and third-stringers executing screen plays to perfection, the ceiling is high for the first-stringers.
Top-five offensive line?
Could this have been our first look at one of the NFL’s best offensive lines in 2025?
It may have only been one preseason drive, but Green Bay’s starters were also out there, which adds legitimacy to what we saw in the small sample size. New York was also missing one of its best starters.
Time will tell if the Jets’ offensive line can maintain this form, but it was certainly an idea of what their peak could look like. The potential is there for this to be one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. They are athletic, aggressive, and, shocking as it is to say, well-coached (possibly).
This was just a taste of what New York is hoping to see from its offensive line in both phases.