The New York Jets were in cruise control for the vast majority of their 23-10 Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans.

When you gain 367 yards and hold possession for almost 39 minutes without committing a turnover or enduring a sack, that’s expected.

However, even with all of that on the Jets’ side, one interesting number stood out: Gang Green converted just 2 of their 12 attempts on third-down (16.7%).

That rate was tied for 29th in the NFL in Week 1. For an offense that moved the ball effectively, that’s a very surprising number.

Jets struggled to finish third downs

The Jets converted their first third down of the season on their opening drive, when Geno Smith hit Omar Cooper Jr. for a 30-yard catch-and-run on third-and-9. The play set up New York’s first touchdown of the day, a three-yard rushing TD from Kenyon Sadiq.

After that play, however, and Cooper left the game with an ankle injury, and the Jets converted just one of their 11 final third-down chances.

The good news is that the team was good enough elsewhere to overcome their third-down struggles. Smith and the Jets logged 19 first downs and rushed for 152 yards while also converting on both of their fourth-down chances.

Their 19-play drive in the first-half stayed alive because Aaron Glenn was willing to go for it twice on fourth down.

While that worked against Tennessee, it will be much harder for the Jets to compete against high-end teams with those third-down struggles. Glenn won’t always be able to bail the team out by being aggressive on fourth down.

Yes, the Jets controlled nearly 39 minutes of the possession while generating 367 total yards, but their third-down struggles help explain why the offense scored just two touchdowns.

To improve on third down, especially with Smith, the key is setting up third-and-manageable. Step one in that plan with Smith at the helm could be to be more aggressive on early downs.

On the Jets’ opening drive in the second half, Smith completed two passes of at least 30 yards, and the offense as a whole created 80 total yards in just five plays. Obviously, that’s not going to be the case on every drive, but Frank Reich should be looking to use Smith’s arm strength and accuracy to capitalize on early downs.

That is the best complement to the team’s strong rushing attack.

Jets can rebound against Green Bay

The good news is that New York has a strong opportunity to bounce back on third down against this week’s opponents: the Green Bay Packers.

In Green Bay’s Week 1 39-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, they allowed Minnesota to convert eight of 15 third-down attempts (53.3%), the sixth-highest mark in the league.

Once again, the Packers will be without edge rusher Micah Parsons, whom they are 0-6 without. Also, key defensive linemen Lukas Van Ness and Javon Hargrave may not be active due to the league’s concussion protocol.

Pairing that with Smith’s strong history against Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon (4-0 record), and the Jets have an overall favorable matchup against the Packers on offense, but third-down success rate is certainly an area to watch.