Are Jets’ ‘great weeks of practice’ a gameday death sentence?

It’s the phrase every New York Jets head coach has leaned on over the years.

Since Gang Green’s 14-year playoff drought began, most leaders of the organization have touted the team’s strong practice habits heading into game day.

“We had a great week of practice” has become a familiar refrain. The issue? The games that follow rarely reflect the work that supposedly preceded them. More often than not, the Jets have come out flat and left with a loss.

That same pattern has followed first-year head coach Aaron Glenn. Just last week, he praised the team’s preparation leading up to Sunday’s matchup — a game the Jets went on to lose, 37-22.

Now, as the team prepares to face the Denver Broncos in London, Glenn is doubling down on the familiar message.

“When it comes to the game, man, we had a really good week of practice,” Glenn said before Friday’s session. “They go out to practice with the intent of making sure that we improve and we get better with all the things we talk about we need to get better at.”

So, has Glenn unknowingly jinxed the Jets heading into Week 6? Is it a death sentence when a Jets coach praises a strong week of preparation?

A Jets pattern that won’t go away

There’s no empirical data to prove a “curse” exists when Jets coaches talk up the team’s practice habits. But there is a consistent pattern of struggles when it comes to translating positive work in Florham Park into results on the field — whether at MetLife Stadium or elsewhere.

Following last week’s loss to the Cowboys, Glenn offered insight into what’s behind the disconnect. According to him, it’s a mindset issue.

“It’s just the fact of when you get in games like this, when something bad happens, the response isn’t where we need it to be,” Glenn said. “I’ve got to look at myself on that, and I’ve got to do something to fix that. We’re all in this together, but I do know this — it all starts with me. We’ve got to fix it.”

The problem isn’t effort or attention to detail during the week. It’s how the team responds when adversity hits during the game. Instead of bouncing back, players slump their shoulders and brace for more to go wrong. Small mistakes snowball into major setbacks.

This isn’t just a Glenn-era problem. It’s a pattern that has plagued the franchise for more than a decade.

Practice isn’t the problem

The idea of a “practice curse” isn’t really about practice at all. It’s about control, or lack thereof. In practice, coaches can control the environment. If a player makes a mistake, the team moves on. There’s time to correct and repeat reps.

In a game, that same mistake could kill a drive or even decide the outcome. When multiple errors stack up, the result is often a loss.

Jets fans might be tired of hearing about how well the team practices. But the true fix won’t come from changing post-practice talking points. It will come when players start responding better to in-game adversity. Only then will the progress made behind closed doors start to show up on Sundays.