On Sunday, the New York Jets earned a gritty 27-20 win over the Cleveland Browns, their second victory of the season and their first at home.
The game was played in rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium, and while the result wasn’t as thrilling as their 39-38 Week 8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, it carried just as much weight.
It wasn’t pretty, but for a team trying to rebuild its identity, this one might have meant even more.
The team played complementary football
One of the biggest reasons the Jets have struggled this season is their inability to play complementary football. It’s a weakness their veteran leaders have acknowledged.
“We need to improve on supportive football and complementary football,” Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips told reporters ahead of the team’s matchup on Sunday. “If we can improve on those two things, and not only support the two other phases when they are not out there, but also complement the other phases, I think that is the overarching thing.
“You’ve seen what our offense can do, you’ve seen what our defense can do, you’ve seen the consistency of our special teams. Man, can we put it all together for a stretch of time?”
Some weeks, the offense has found a rhythm while the defense couldn’t finish. Other weeks, the defense dominated, but the offense couldn’t move the ball.
On Sunday, though, the Jets found ways to make things click across all three phases.
Chris Banjo’s special teams led the way, accounting for two of New York’s three touchdowns: a 99-yard kick return from Kene Nwangwu and a 74-yard punt return from Isaiah Williams. Each touchdown was a unit-wide effort, as the blocking was excellent on both returns.
Defensively, the Jets turned in one of their better outings of the year, allowing just 278 yards. Seven of the 20 points they allowed came off a short field after Justin Fields’ interception. Up front, New York’s pass rush was relentless, collecting six sacks, four of them courtesy of Will McDonald in a franchise record-tying performance.
Offensively, Justin Fields played terribly; there’s no way around it.
Fields completed six of 11 passes (55%) for just 54 yards, with 42 of those coming on a screen pass to Breece Hall that went for a touchdown. Outside of that play, he completed only two passes beyond the line of scrimmage and threw one interception.
In total, the Jets finished with 42 net passing yards, the fewest by any team in a win since Week 18 of the 2022 season, when the Carolina Panthers had 32 in a 10-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Ironically, Sam Darnold started that game for Carolina.
It was one of the offense’s roughest outings of the year. But the defense and special teams picked up the slack, making enough big plays to push New York over the top. The ground game also chipped in just enough to help close it out, led by a standout performance from young tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou.
For a team trying to find its identity, Sunday’s win showed what can happen when all three phases rally together. It’s a crucial building block for the Jets’ future, and one they’ll need to keep replicating.
Aaron Glenn still has the locker room’s buy-in
When you start 0-7 and become the NFL’s punchline, it’s hard to keep a locker room together, especially for a first-year head coach with no prior head-coaching experience.
Aaron Glenn has managed to pull it off.
Despite the rough start, players remain all-in on Glenn’s message. They’re still playing with energy, toughness, and belief every week.
Veteran cornerback Brandon Stephens highlighted the weight of Glenn’s words to the defense at halftime.
“First half, we really weren’t playing our style of ball, as we like,” Stephens said. “Hearing AG’s message at halftime, he challenged us to go out there and play our brand of football. I think we did that in the second half.”
Following his 99-yard touchdown return, Kene Nwangwu credited the Jets locker room’s “elite buy-in” as a major reason for the success on special teams.
Nobody expected the Jets to make a playoff run in year one of Glenn’s tenure, and that dream faded fast after the early-season skid. But at this point, every win matters, not for the standings, but for the culture being built inside that locker room.
The players want to win. Period.
It’s a reality that the “pro-tank” crowd often overlooks. No one in that building is taking their foot off the gas. Glenn continues to coach for victories, and his team continues to play hard for him.
Sunday’s win was especially meaningful given the circumstances. It was the Jets’ first game since trading away two franchise cornerstones, cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
Losing teammates like that, players who Breece Hall called “brothers,” isn’t easy. But instead of folding, the Jets responded, rallying around each other and delivering a strong defensive performance despite the absence of two of their biggest stars.
The offense struggled, but the special teams picked up the slack for them. When the Jets needed it most, the offense iced the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and delivering a final clock-chewing drive to seal the deal.
This is the exact type of “supportive football” that Harrison Phillips talked about.
It doesn’t salvage their record or erase the rough start, but for the first time this year, the Jets are starting to look like a team that believes in their coach, each other, and where they’re headed.
