In many ways, the 2026 New York Jets haven’t been quite what people expected through five games.
Let’s run through the team’s rankings in various categories so far.
Pass defense
- 11th in pass defense DVOA
- 2nd in net yards per pass attempt allowed (4.9)
- 16th in opponent passer rating (89.5)
- 2nd in sack rate (9.6%)
- 31st in interception rate (0.6%)
The Jets’ pass defense seemed like a major potential ceiling-limiter entering the season. New York had an inexperienced secondary and a front seven that leaned heavily toward run-stopping talent, with limited proven pass-rush production.
Five games in, though, the Jets have stopped the pass quite well, ranking 11th in pass defense DVOA. Throughout this article, DVOA will be the best metric for evaluating the overall quality of each unit, as it accounts for variables such as down, distance, score, time, field position, and opponent quality to deliver a solid one-number evaluation of efficiency.
The Jets have elite rankings in certain pass defense categories, including No. 2 rankings in net yards per pass attempt and sack rate. However, their overall efficiency is dragged down by their inability to take the ball away, as they rank 31st in interception rate (0.6%). This helps explain why their pass defense only ranks 11th overall despite their second-ranked performance in net yards per attempt.
New York has also benefited from an easy slate of opposing offenses to start, which hurts them in DVOA, an opponent-adjusted metric. Based on DVOA, they have faced the league’s sixth-easiest slate of opposing offenses; they racked up most of their positive pass-defense production in two games against Cam Ward and Deshaun Watson, while a rainy game against the Packers also helped.
The Jets’ pass defense has exceeded expectations, but they must jack up the interceptions and prove they can rise to the occasion against quality quarterbacks.
Rush defense
- 26th in rush defense DVOA
- 19th in yards per rush attempt allowed (4.2)
- 26th in rushing success rate allowed (43.0%)
Coming into the year, the Jets’ defense appeared built to stop the run, but handicapped by limitations against the pass. Instead, they rank 15 spots higher against the pass than against the run, at least through five games.
In fairness to the Jets, their numbers are skewed by one game against the Chicago Bears’ No. 1-ranked rushing offense (in terms of yards per game) in Week 4. The Jets not only yielded 232 rushing yards, but they allowed those yards methodically. Chicago gained positive chunks at will, leading to over 42 minutes of possession time.
Outside of that game, the Jets have coughed up just 89.5 rushing yards per game, but there are still holes to poke. The elite Lions run game beat them up with 131 yards and a handful of critical runs in Week 3, and in each of the other three games, the Jets were facing one of the league’s six worst rushing offenses in terms of DVOA, including the two worst units in the league (Cleveland and Green Bay).
Just like against the pass, the main concern for the Jets’ run defense is proving they can show up against top-tier units. They are handling business against bottom-feeders, though.
Pass offense
- 17th in pass offense DVOA
- 18th in net yards per attempt (5.8)
- 7th in passer rating (104.2)
- 3rd in completion percentage (69.4%)
- 29th in sack rate allowed (9.8%)
- One of three teams with 0 INTs
The Jets’ pass offense has been very average. That exceeds the expectations of many fans and is good enough to put the Jets on track for their most productive season through the air since 2015.
The positives and negatives of this unit are quite clear. The good news is that they complete passes at a high rate and avoid interceptions. Those strengths give them a high floor. However, the Jets are yielding far too many sacks, which have killed a plethora of drives.
It is possible that New York could climb the rankings as the season progresses. They have achieved these rankings despite wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and Omar Cooper Jr. playing a combined nine quarters of football. Left guard Dylan Parham has also been absent for multiple weeks, while tight end Mason Taylor missed two games. Running back Breece Hall, one of the game’s premier receiving backs, has been out for two games as well.
Having more weapons in the fold can allow Geno Smith to get the ball out quicker and minimize sack opportunities. Even when those weapons do return, though, it’s on Smith to speed up his process and get the ball out. Smith remains a solid starting quarterback with some of the best accuracy in the game, but at his age, he isn’t going to escape many sacks, so he has to get the ball out before defenders can reach him.
The Jets’ pass-offense floor is higher than it has been in over a decade thanks to Smith’s smart veteran decision-making, ball security, and accuracy, but due to Smith’s limitations, they do not have the explosiveness to overcome a litany of sacks. Smith has to cut the sacks down, or the Jets’ aerial ceiling will remain right where it is: league-average.
Nonetheless, all things considered, league-average passing production is quite the accomplishment for this organization, given both its history and the injuries it has battled this year.
Rush offense
- 19th in rush offense DVOA
- 28th in yards per rush attempt (3.6)
- 18th in rushing success rate (37.7%)
The Jets’ run game has been a disappointment, particularly when it comes to explosiveness. They rank 28th in yards per rush attempt, and it’s due to their inability to generate home-run plays. New York’s longest rush of the season went for 22 yards, and that was their lone carry for 20+ yards. They didn’t even get it until Week 5.
However, the Jets rank a more respectable 19th in rush offense DVOA, and it’s because the run game has displayed decent consistency despite its lack of explosiveness. They are 18th in rushing success rate, and if you filter out garbage time (plays with a win probability of greater than 98% or less than 2%), they rise to 16th.
Getting back Breece Hall will help after he missed two games, but Hall is still looking to find his second gear this season. Hall’s longest rush this season went for 14 yards across 51 carries, although he did have a 43-yard reception on a screen.
Explosiveness might not be the Jets’ bread-and-butter on the ground this year, but if they can consistently stay ahead of the chains, it will help out Geno Smith quite a bit. The shorter the Jets’ average third-down distance is, the better Smith’s chances of avoiding sacks.
Special teams
- 16th in special teams DVOA
- 15th in FG/XP DVOA
- 12th in kickoff DVOA
- 12th in kick return DVOA
- 24th in punt DVOA
- 30th in punt return DVOA
After a historic year on special teams in 2025, the Jets’ special teams has declined to league-average so far. It’s disappointing, but unsurprising, as special teams production tends to be erratic from year to year due to back-end roster turnover and the inherent randomness of the facet.
Jason Sanders has been fine at kicker. The kickoff and kick return units have been mostly nondescript.
However, the Jets have things to clean up on both sides of the punt game.
Their punt unit has declined sharply. Punter Austin McNamara is having a down year, while the coverage unit has been shaky, most notably allowing a breakaway punt return against the Packers that cost the Jets a victory.
The punt return unit has become a liability after helping the Jets win multiple games in 2025. The Jets have yet to register a punt return for over 20 yards, while they were lucky to get away with two muffs by Isaiah Williams in Week 2; this is a big factor in the Jets’ No. 30 ranking, as DVOA weighs all fumbles equally, regardless of whether they are recovered, to account for luck.
New York has the talent to be much better than 16th on special teams, especially now that Kene Nwangwu is back at kick returner. If this is their floor, though, it isn’t a bad thing to have a special teams unit that is mostly invisible.
Still, given that the Jets’ offensive and defensive ceilings are fairly low compared to most NFL teams, special teams can be the difference-maker that gives them the edge to win games, so they would benefit greatly if this unit rediscovered its 2025 form, or at least something close to it.
Overall
- 11th in pass defense DVOA
- 26th in rush defense DVOA
- 17th in pass offense DVOA
- 19th in rush defense DVOA
- 16th in special teams DVOA
Across the board, the Jets have looked like a run-of-the-mill NFL team through five games.
That probably will not prompt many Jets fans to do cartwheels, nor bolt out to their back porch and scream “Hey world, the Jets are 17th in pass offense DVOA!”, especially when it is accompanied by a losing record. Still, it represents a huge step forward from last year’s historically awful team, which had the third-worst combined offensive-plus-defensive DVOA in NFL history.
With 12 games to go, let’s see if Aaron Glenn can build on the progress by getting his team to play up to snuff against some of the tougher teams on New York’s schedule. So far, the Jets have handled business against the likes of Cam Ward and Deshaun Watson, which is a step up from last year, when any quarterback could crush them, but can the Jets defeat the Drake Mayes and Josh Allens of the world? That’s the next test.
Through five weeks, though, the Jets have been “fine”, and for now, that’s… fine.
It doesn’t warrant a five-year extension for Aaron Glenn and a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. But it warrants some credit, and at least a little more time for Glenn to prove why he should earn a third season and the right to utilize three first-round picks.
