The New York Jets’ 1-2 start to the 2026 season has been a complex one.
At the end of the day, 1-2 is 1-2. The Jets are on track for their 11th straight season with a losing record if they don’t start figuring out how to close out tight games.
However, it’s impossible to ignore the considerable improvement to the respectability of the overall on-field product.
The next step is learning how to translate those numbers to wins on a more consistent basis, but for now, the team’s overall efficiency is a promising sign regarding the direction they are headed.
So, which facets of the team are most responsible for the improved “feel” of the team’s competitiveness? Which units need to pick things up if the Jets are going to leap from “fun, frisky team” to a legitimate playoff contender?
Let’s rank the Jets’ main five units from worst to best through Week 3.
5. Special teams (DVOA rank: 28th)
With a No. 28 ranking in DVOA (an all-encompassing efficiency metric that accounts for opponent strength), per FTN Fantasy, the Jets’ special teams unit has undergone a 27-spot drop compared to last year’s top-ranked output.
A decline from the 2025 unit’s historic greatness is not totally shocking, as special teams units typically undergo drastic shifts from year to year due to roster turnover and the pure randomness of special teams.
However, this type of night-and-day flip was unexpected. The Jets should certainly be capable of maintaining above-average special teams play.
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Some key pieces have fallen off. Punter Austin McNamara is not flipping the field at the same level. Special teams captain Isaiah Williams has made little noise as a punt or kick returner, while getting away with two muffs.
The Jets also have yet to see kick returner Kene Nwangwu, who has been absent with a back injury.
Overall, though, it can be difficult to expect sustainability on special teams when pieces are shuffling around so frequently. Of the Jets’ top 15 players in special teams snaps last season, seven are off the team. Another one of those players, linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, was absent in last week’s loss to Detroit.
Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo was widely lauded for the work he did with the 2025 unit, to the point that he started receiving chatter as a potential head coaching candidate. Well, the early goings of the 2026 campaign have given him a chance to show the world what he’s made of.
If Banjo can get this unit turned around after a cold start, many offseason losses, and important injuries, it would speak volumes about his impact.
4. Rush defense (DVOA rank: 25th)
Outside of the special teams, the Jets’ run defense was arguably their highest-ceiling unit coming into 2026. With a plethora of proven veteran run-stoppers added to the team, there was elite potential for this unit.
That potential is not out the window after just three games, but so far, the Jets’ run defense has been underwhelming compared to expectations.
The baseline numbers don’t look too bad: they are seventh-best with 87.3 rushing yards allowed per game. When you dive deeper, though, the cracks begin to show.
New York is struggling to both stuff runs and prevent breakaways. They have the fifth-lowest stuff rate (14.3%) and have allowed the 10th-highest rate of explosive runs (10.7%).
Overall, opponents have enjoyed consistent results against the Jets’ run defense, racking up a 44.6% rushing success rate, which ranks seventh-worst.
The Jets rank seventh-best in yards allowed per game only because they haven’t been tested much, facing the third-fewest rush attempts per game (20.7). That is a byproduct of spending most of the first two weeks in the lead.
On a per-play basis, though, the Jets were quietly showing signs of vulnerability against the run from Weeks 1-2, and the Detroit Lions exposed those problems in Week 3.
This week, the Jets will face the league’s No. 1 team in rushing yards, the Chicago Bears, so their run defense will be tested once again.
3. Rush offense (DVOA rank: 20th)
The Jets had an outstanding season opener on the ground, followed by two brutal performances, culminating in their current No. 20 ranking.
Because of the dichotomy between the season opener and the next two games, it’s tough to project where the Jets’ run game will land moving forward.
In Week 1, they looked overwhelmingly dominant against a Titans defense that proceeded to rank ninth-best with 3.5 yards per rush attempt allowed from Weeks 2-3 (across matchups with the Eagles and Giants). But in Weeks 2-3, the Jets continuously ran into brick walls against the Packers and Lions, two teams that have struggled defensively this year.
The Jets will likely have to deal with some key losses in this phase over the next few weeks, as running back Breece Hall and left guard Dylan Parham are week-to-week. Parham has graded out as one of the NFL’s top run-blocking guard this year, and the film backs it up.
In Week 4, though, the Jets will take on a Bears defense that ranks 28th in rush defense DVOA and 31st in yards per rush attempt allowed (5.1). Even without Hall and Parham, this is a chance for New York to get the ground game back on track.
2. Pass defense (DVOA rank: 11th)
New York is 1-2 (rather than 2-1 or 3-0) because of their struggles on the ground and on special teams.
The reason why you can say “the Jets should be 2-1” or “the Jets should be 3-0” is the aerial success they have enjoyed on both sides of the ball.
The pass defense was dominant over the first two games, yielding just 263 yards while collecting six sacks. Granted, the competition was far from intimidating: Cam Ward and a heavily-injured Packers offense in the rain are not scaring anybody.
Still, the Packers exceeded 300 passing yards in each of their other two games, while the Titans’ Week 1 game remains their season-low for passing yards. So, give the Jets’ pass defense some credit for the level of dominance they had in those games.
In Week 3, though, an indoor road game against Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions’ offensive juggernaut exposed some flaws in the Jets’ pass defense. Goff essentially did whatever he wanted, ranking second among quarterbacks in Week 3 with a 62.2% dropback success rate.
The Jets won’t face Cam Ward every week, but they also won’t play the Lions on the road every week. Most likely, the Jets’ current 11th-place ranking against the pass is a realistic ceiling for them to strive to maintain.
1. Pass offense (DVOA rank: 8th)
How often has this been the case in Jets history?
Without question, the passing attack has been New York’s best facet through three weeks. It is the only unit that has felt like a positive in all three games.
Teaming up with Garrett Wilson, Frank Reich, and a solid pass-blocking line has helped Geno Smith return to the peak form he displayed in Seattle after a down year in Las Vegas. Smith has been one of the league’s better overall quarterbacks so far, and from an accuracy standpoint, he has been the hands-down No. 1 passer.
Out of 33 qualified quarterbacks, here are Smith’s ranks:
- 1st in completion percentage (75.5%)
- 1st in adjusted completion percentage (84.0%)
- 1st in completion percentage over expected (10.9%)
- 5th in passer rating (110.0)
- 12th in adjusted EPA per play (0.183)
- 13th in net yards per attempt (6.4)
A lot of things are clicking for the Jets’ passing game. The pass-catchers have been excellent, headlined by Garrett Wilson, who is having a nearly flawless start to the year. Wilson has zero drops and has caught 8 of 9 contested targets.
Outside of Wilson, players like Kenyon Sadiq, Adonai Mitchell, and Jeremy Ruckert have impressed with their hands. Altogether, the Jets’ team-wide receiving metrics are remarkable: per PFF, New York’s pass-catchers have combined for just two drops while securing 13 of 20 contested targets (65%).
Up front, the Jets had a fantastic stretch of pass-blocking over the first two weeks. From Weeks 1-2, New York ranked as PFF’s No. 1 pass-blocking team, with Smith taking pressure at a below-average rate even while maintaining an above-average time-to-throw.
The pass protection fell apart in Detroit, with Smith taking five sacks and absorbing consistent pressure, but Smith overcame it with a stellar display of under-pressure passing. Despite the five sacks, when Smith did get the ball out under pressure in Detroit, he was surgical, completing 12 of 13 passes for 152 yards and nine first downs.
Smith’s under-pressure passing has been perhaps the greatest shock of the Jets’ first three games. The prevailing narrative coming into 2026 was that Smith can still succeed from a clean pocket but struggles under pressure, so he was poised to improve with the Jets due to an improved offensive line giving him more chances to throw from a clean pocket.
While the Jets have indeed given Smith better pass protection, Smith has also been substantially better under pressure. He is averaging 8.9 yards per attempt under pressure, which trails only Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, while his 70.4% completion rate ranks first by more than 12 percentage points compared to the closest player.
On one hand, it’s disappointing that the Jets have wasted this excellent three-game run from Smith. It has been years since New York enjoyed a quarterbacking stretch like this, and now that they finally got it, other facets of the team found ways to squander it.
On the other hand, the success of the passing game gives the Jets a high ceiling over the rest of the season. If Smith and the aerial attack can maintain their top-10 efficiency as a unit, the Jets will almost assuredly win plenty of games.
The question is whether what we’ve seen from the passing game so far is a sign of things to come, or if the Jets will regret wasting Smith’s best stretch of the season.
New York has faced a cupcake schedule of pass defenses, with Tennessee (27th), Detroit (26th), and Green Bay (22nd) all ranking outside the top 20 in pass defense DVOA. The Lions were down four safeties, the Packers were down Micah Parsons, and the Titans are… just not very good.
If the passing offense drops off, the Jets need other facets of the team to cover for it. The special teams, rush defense, and rush offense all have plenty of room to pick up the slack for the passing offense if it regresses to the mean.
New York can still win games if their passing offense settles around league-average, which was the realistic ceiling that most people expected entering the year. Their current numbers are wildly above expectations, and some regression should be expected.
Still, it’s exciting for Jets fans to think about the type of run that could be ahead if the passing offense maintains its success and the other units climb back toward expectations.
