Ten snaps?
It was perhaps the most puzzling storyline from the New York Jets’ Week 1 win.
One week later, it’s even more puzzling—except, after what we saw in Week 2, it probably won’t be an issue again.
Third-year defensive tackle Jowon Briggs was the team’s brightest young standout on defense in 2025. He emerged as one of the NFL’s best interior pass rushers over the second half of the season.
Yet, Briggs played only 10 defensive snaps in the team’s 2026 season-opening victory over the Tennessee Titans, representing a measly 20% slice of the pie, his lowest mark as a Jet.
In the team’s Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers, Briggs jumped back up to 35 snaps, a 59% portion. It was a much more reasonable role for him, given the talent and production that he has displayed in New York.
Granted, the expanded role was partially due to starting defensive tackle David Onyemata exiting the game after playing 13 snaps. Regardless, Briggs made it clear to the Jets’ coaching staff that he should never be ignored again.
It was a phenomenal day at the office for Briggs, who racked up three tackles against the run and two pressures. While it isn’t the flashiest stat line at first glance, his plays were impactful. All three tackles were high-quality reps in which he dominated his blocker and stopped the run for three yards or fewer. His two pressures were comprised of a strip-sack and a quarterback hurry to help force an incompletion.
Keep in mind, Briggs made all of those plays in the second half and overtime. Since he was only promoted to a featured role after Onyemata’s injury, Briggs played just 8 of his 35 snaps in the first half.
Briggs’ work earned him an 86.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which led the Jets’ defense on a day in which the unit held the Green Bay Packers’ offense to 199 total yards.
The 25-year-old seized his opportunity to show Aaron Glenn why he should be the focal point of the Jets’ defensive tackle room. Briggs is a two-way force, and it never made much sense why he wasn’t starting for the team, let alone playing as few as 20% of the snaps.
Looking ahead, Briggs is set to continue playing a featured role in the near future, as Onyemata has been placed on injured reserve with a groin issue and will miss at least four games. That will force the Jets’ hand, but Briggs’ performance in Week 2 should serve as a reminder of why he should anchor New York’s interior defensive line for the remainder of the season, even when the entire unit is available.
There is no way that Glenn and the Jets’ coaches watched Briggs’ reps in Monday’s film review and came to any other conclusion besides pushing No. 91 back up to the top of the DT depth chart.
Jowon Briggs vs. Packers
Briggs announced his presence early in the third quarter with a strip-sack of Jordan Love.
Briggs added another pressure to help force an incompletion, which also showed his ability to rush within the scheme.
It didn’t affect the play, but Briggs added another impressive pass-rush win that flexed his versatility as a rusher.
What made Briggs’ performance especially critical as it pertains to earning a bigger role was his run defense. He made a statement with this run stuff, coming just two snaps after his strip-sack.
Briggs didn’t stop there, adding another dazzling one-on-one rep in the run game at a crucial point in the fourth quarter.
Then, Briggs momentarily stopped the Jets’ bleeding with a run stuff in overtime.
Jowon Briggs isn’t just the Jets’ best all-around defensive tackle—he has the potential to be one of the faces of New York’s entire defense, and one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.
It’s time for the Jets to utilize him accordingly. They won’t have a choice over the next four weeks, anyway, but after the display Briggs put on against Green Bay, his playing time should never have to be a subject of debate.
