Life is not good in New York Jets land. For the third straight time, a new coach has started his career 0-3.
For all the strong comments made by head coach Aaron Glenn before the season, many of the same problems that have plagued the team over the last 14 years have continued to rear their head in the first three games of the season.
To a fanbase that hasn’t seen a playoff berth in almost two decades, and hasn’t come close to finishing over .500 in close to 10 years, Glenn’s first few weeks are unacceptable.
But are fans overreacting to this year’s iteration of the team? There’s reason to think that may be the case.
Jets concerns may be overblown
In 2024, the Jets won five games. That was with a Hall-of-Fame quarterback (Aaron Rodgers), a Hall-of-Fame receiver (Davante Adams), and several other quality starters at almost every position. The difference, as many understood it to be, was coaching.
New York was a poorly coached football team on both offense and defense last year.
While many fans will try to connect Glenn’s early struggles to last year’s team, the reality is that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Offensively, the Jets’ scheme looks refreshingly modern. They just need the quarterback to deliver the football on time and accurately.
Defensively, the unit is struggling with injuries and the marriage of two complex systems. That kind of collaboration takes more than three weeks to figure out.
Numbers-wise, the Jets don’t look like a good football team. After Week 3, they are 25th in total yards, 31st in passing, ninth in rushing, 22nd in yards allowed, 23rd against the run, and 14th against the pass according to Pro Football Reference.
It’s just not good enough across the board for a team trying to find its identity. But as mediocre as those numbers look, context must be added, which is a significant reason why Jets fans may overreact to the team’s lowly start.
The schedule
The combined win-loss record of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers—all three of New York’s opponents along the way to start the season—is 8-1.
No matter what kind of rookie head coach you have, that is always a tough start to a career.
Despite the three losses, New York has been in two of those games, losing in the final seconds of each contest. The Jets may not have played well against Tampa Bay, but the numbers show they lost a one-score game to a Super Bowl contender.
New York’s next few slate of opponents?
The winless Miami Dolphins, the Dallas Cowboys with the worst defense in football, an underachieving Denver Broncos unit, a bad Carolina Panthers squad, a Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals, and the Cleveland Browns.
The combined records of those teams? 6-12.
It is far too early to determine if Glenn’s coaching staff is up to the challenge this year. Any overreacting to the current state of affairs doesn’t take into account the slate of games that are still to be played.
No season is over for a team after three games. There’s a lot of football left to be played.
In the New York Jets’ case, their poor start to the season doesn’t mean it’s an indictment of the current coaching staff. It shows where the team is compared to three playoff teams with Super Bowl expectations.