The New York Jets begin their preseason slate tonight, facing off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under the lights at MetLife Stadium (7 p.m. EST).

Gang Green’s starters will play, which is the right call, but even beyond that, there is plenty to watch.

Here is the blueprint of what a successful preseason opener would look like for Gang Green.

No injuries to starters

This one is obvious. While I believe the Jets made the right decision by suiting up their starters tonight, getting out of the game injury-free is essential.

Ultimately, those who argue Jets’ starters shouldn’t play because of injury must realize that football will be played at some point. There is always an injury risk, whether on the practice field, in the preseason, or in Week 1.

Still, an injury to one of the Jets’ starters would be less than ideal in the preseason opener as they gear up for a season where a fast start is more essential than ever.

According to Glenn, starters will play around 25-30 snaps total throughout the preseason. It’s fair to assume that they will play 1-2 drives today.

If the offense and defense look solid and smooth out of the gate, scoring on the opening drive for the offense and forcing a three-and-out on defense, they could very well get pulled following the opening series.

Overall, though, getting starters out of the game without injury is the Jets’ most important task tonight.

A few David Bailey splash plays

David Bailey’s pass rushing skills have been on full display throughout training camp, while his fundamentals and discipline have also progressed, according to our own Robby Sabo.

That level of success continued during the team’s joint practices with Tampa Bay this week, as Bailey consistently got past Bucs tackle Luke Goedeke, which is notable because the 27-year-old didn’t allow a sack last season.

While it’s unlikely that Goedeke will be active tonight as Tampa Bay is sitting the majority of their starters, it would be promising to see Bailey make a few splash plays during the preseason and when quarterbacks aren’t wearing red jerseys.

It’s been highly encouraging to watch his promising training camp unfold, but watching it translate into the preseason would be even more promising.

These will also be key reps for the No. 2 overall pick, as Joseph Ossai, who was recently removed from the team’s PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, is not expected to play, along with Kingsley Enagbare, who remains day-to-day.

Given the status of two of the Jets’ top edge rushers in Ossai and Enagbare, there will be no shortage of snaps to evaluate Bailey’s play.

While the focus will be on his pass-rushing ability, how he fares against the run will also be intriguing to monitor, given his well-documented struggles in that area from his time at Texas Tech.

Cade Klubnik separates himself in the QB2 battle

Earlier today, we broke down what a successful preseason debut would look like for fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik.

The best-case scenario tonight is that he separates himself from Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe while looking like he belongs on an NFL field.

Everyone knows the Jets are hoping the Clemson product earns the role, and there is a very high chance he can accomplish that.

Based on reports throughout the summer, his training camp has been up and down, but his flashes have been highly encouraging.

The goal tonight should be to see more good than bad out of Klubnik and come out believing that with a few more positive performances, he can be trusted to be one play away from starting as a fourth-round rookie.

His competition, in Cook and Zappe, isn’t too fierce.

Unlike his competitors, the Jets have draft capital tied to Klubnik; you can’t say the same for Cook and Zappe, who have each thrown more interceptions than touchdowns throughout their careers.

Healthy starters, a few Bailey flashes, and an encouraging outing from Klubnik—that’ll be more than enough from New York’s preseason opener.