Not every member of the national media is down on the New York Jets.
NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt was bold enough to offer a positive take on the Jets’ outlook going into the 2026 season. Of course, though, he was labeled “crazy” for the opinion.
Speaking on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” about the pre-show planning for a segment on the Jets, Brandt said he suggested that the discussion should focus on how the Jets can earn a wild card spot, but that the idea was shot down by the cast and crew.
“In discussing this segment with our production team and our cast here, I thought that the question should be, ‘How do the Jets get a wild card in 2026?’ Just a wild card. I was shot down in that suggestion for that being too unrealistic of a question to propose. And I’m not making this up. We had people on the staff being like, ‘Ah, I don’t know, that’s a little crazy, I don’t know if we want to ask that question.'”
Brandt insisted that he isn’t setting the bar too high for the Jets—only a wild card, not going from last-place to the Super Bowl, like the 2025 New England Patriots.
“Last year, the New England Patriots were in the Super Bowl with a second-year guy after a terrible season the year before. I’m not even saying [the Jets could] win the AFC East, I was modest about it. Just scratch a wild card. They were like, ‘No, no, no.’ Are you kidding me? This is a team with a lot of talented players. A great receiver, running back, a very experienced quarterback.”
Jets fans have a lot more enemies than friends in the national media, but in Brandt, it seems they have a supporter going into the 2026 season.
