In the NFL, you are what your record says you are—just ask Bill Parcells. For the New York Jets, their 0-3 record tells a story of a team struggling to execute for a full 60 minutes consistently.
Their most recent loss, a 29-27 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, showed more than just a defeat on the scoreboard.
New York trailed Tampa Bay 23-6 going into the fourth quarter. Their former head coach, Todd Bowles, and his new team were outplaying, outcoaching, and outclassing them.
In many cases, the Jets’ poor performance would seep into that final quarter to turn the game into a laugher. That isn’t what happened. Instead, New York scored 21 fourth-quarter points and had the lead going into the closing seconds of the contest as well.
The Jets may have lost the game, but they showed important signs throughout that final quarter that may show the organization is under the right leadership.
Jets show promising signs in loss
Immediately following the Buccaneers’ game-winning field goal, head coach Aaron Glenn was seen smiling and clapping his hands after the contest. It may seem a little tone deaf to some fans, but the coach was thrilled with the fight his team showed.
“We’re not the same team as what everyone says, ‘same old Jets’; there’s no give up in them,” Glenn said after the game. “We’ve got to get better, I know that. We will get better, but I like exactly the way our guys fought.”
Glenn’s Jets certainly showed fight. New York’s defense gave up just nine points in the second half. While the group wasn’t perfect, the Jets did get a crucial start in the fourth quarter to keep them in the game.
But at the end of the day, Sunday’s loss dropped the team to 0-3. As pleased as Glenn is with the fight, as good as Tyrod Taylor and the offense looked in the fourth quarter, the Jets have begun another season with three straight losses to kick off a new coaching hire.
For fans, the psyche behind a losing stretch weighs on everyone. Glenn is now the third consecutive head coach for the organization to fail to win any of his first stretch of games.
There’s a difference in what the team is putting on the field now, compared to those past iterations, though. It’s a reason why Glenn has pushed against the “instant coffee” demands that playing in New York can bring.
“The one thing I don’t do, which I understand New York media tries to do, is the negative parts of it,” Glenn said. “I’m not going to be that way; I’m going to let you guys deal with that. We’re going to look at the things we did well.”
New York has lost its first three games of the year. For fans, it looks like more of the same: losing plays, questionable coaching decisions, and bad in-game adjustments.
On Sunday, though, the Jets showed the kind of fight that a first-year head coach desperately needs to show. The New York Jets may not be a 2025 playoff team (the odds become worse by the week), but they seem to have the right mindset in the locker room.
