Well, New York Jets fans, it’s been a while since the team started 2-0.
Let’s revisit that for a second, if you can remember all the way back to the 2015 season. Todd Bowles was at the head coach, and Ryan Fitzpatrick was at QB. That dynamic duo led the Jets to two consecutive wins against the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts to begin the year, kicking off what would become a 10-6 season.
Good times.
Fast forward 11 years later (a disgustingly long stretch of pain for fans, which WR Garrett Wilson is well aware of), and the Jets have a chance to give the New York faithful what they have been dying for: competent, winning football. It shouldn’t have to be such a foreign concept, but alas, here we are.
Aaron Glenn’s squad convincingly handled business in Week 1’s visit to Nashville against the Robert Saleh-led Tennessee Jets…I mean, Titans. Many of the questions that were up in the air surrounding this 2026 Jets team were answered.
Offensively, the Jets imposed their will on what was labeled a strong Tennessee front seven, finishing with 152 rushing yards and dominating time of possession almost 2-to-1.
Defensively, the Jets were very effective at stopping the run. They held the running backs to 47 yards and two first downs on the ground, while their pass rush and blitz packages caused confusion and chaos up front; quarterback Cam Ward was seeing ghosts.
Aaron Glenn was in his bag throughout his first game assuming defensive play call duties, which was a promising sight to see for all Jets fans.
That was Week 1, though, and I’m not sure there would be any pushback that the Titans were the inferior team. That will not be the case here in Week 2 versus the always dangerous Green Bay Packers.
However, there is one big advantage the Jets hold over the Packers, and the Minnesota Vikings may have clued New York in on how to exploit Green Bay’s greatest weakness: the offensive line.
How the Jets can expose the Packers’ offensive line
Entering halftime of the season opener in a 19-10 hole at home, the Vikings defense made some halftime adjustments and came out with a chip on their shoulder.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores turned up the heat and the pressure, coming from each and every angle you could imagine, and the Packers offensive line had no answers. Simulated pressure with only four rushers, Cover-0 overloaded blitzes, zone dog, cross dog, a litany of twists and stunts on the D-line—you name it, and Flores did it.
Flores unmasked and abused the weak spot on the Green Bay offense, and now the Jets need to follow the plan that was laid out.
It all starts with their defensive line going into full domination mode.
Win off the edge
Packers right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (formerly known as Zach Tom) is the veteran of the unit with 52 starts under his belt. However, Bako-Bewele is coming off knee surgery in the offseason to repair a partially torn patellar tendon. He missed the majority of training camp and was limited in practice entering Week 1.
The rust showed, as Bako-Bewele was credited with allowing three total pressures, including a sack and a quarterback hit. He was particularly poor during the Packers’ fourth-quarter collapse.
Left tackle Jordan Morgan made only his second start at left tackle in the NFL (he has 14 starts at LG). Statistically, he was the second-weakest starter up front, netting a 47.2 offensive grade per Pro Football Focus (PFF). He allowed five pressures, comprised of three hurries and two QB hits. Based on ESPN’s pass-block win rate, Morgan was the least effective pass-blocking tackle of Week 1. It was no bueno, any way you try to slice it.
The Jets edge rushers will be licking their chops heading into this Week 2 battle.
It’s safe to assume the advantage leans toward New York when looking at the DE/OT matchups on paper. The trio of David Bailey, Kingsley Enagbare and Will McDonald combined for 14 total pressures in Week 1, each picking up at least four. Now, they need to step up and show out against an exploitable Packers tackle tandem.
A call to the bullpen?
The Packers’ interior offensive line was no better than their tackles in Week 1.
The starting guards, Donovan Jennings (LG) and Jacob Monk (RG) had one combined NFL start prior to the Vikings game, and it showed. They were credited with allowing a combined six total pressures, including a sack and two quarterback hits, while Jennings also had a false start.
Packers social media was buzzing about seeing Monk receive the start, a player who served as a second-stringer all through camp. Most fans were calling for his head before the final whistle blew on Sunday.
Changes may be coming within the interior of the offensive line, as veteran guard Aaron Banks is returning to practice this week. If healthy, he very well may regain his role as the starting LG for Week 2 in place of Jennings.
Banks, a big free agent pickup for the Packers in 2025, will be an improvement (it’s hard not to be), but I would not expect elite level guard play even if he returns to the lineup. A four-year veteran, Banks has a career PFF pass blocking grade of 57.1, which would place him in the bottom 15% of all eligible guards under the same timeframe.
Interior pressure from T’Vondre Sweat, David Onyemata and hopefully Jowon Briggs (who only saw 10 snaps for the Jets in Week 1) could be a difference-maker for the Jets. More important than the pressure up the middle by the DTs is how they can cause havoc in the stunt/twist game.
Show no love to Love
Setting the tone right off the rip will be of paramount importance if the Jets want to disrupt the flow of Jordan Love, who played an outstanding game while consistently under duress. There is significant evidence that Jordan Love kept clean is a totally different animal than Jordan Love under pressure.
In 2025, Jordan Love had a passer rating of 128.8 (1st overall) and a completion percentage of 79.6% with a clean pocket. Under pressure, Love’s numbers dip to a passer rating of 46.7 (39th overall) and a completion percentage of 41.6%. Love was also credited with four of his six interceptions in 2025 while under pressure.
Without stud RB Josh Jacobs, who is still unable to play while on the commissioner’s exemption list, Love will again be asked to shoulder the load to keep the Packers offense afloat. He has the weapons in the pass game to do that, but the inexperience and lack of dogs up front will be a consistent hurdle for him all season long. Taking advantage of that offensive line is a must for the Jets.
For the Jets, the formula on Sunday is pretty simple: if they dominate up front and disrupt the mojo of Jordan Love, they will give themselves a real chance to dominate the game.
The Vikings exposed the recipe in what is labeled as a copycat league.
It’s up to New York to control what’s controllable.
