NASHVILLE – The Jets beat the Titans 24-17 on Sunday in a hard-fought battle to earn their first win of the season. The Jets are now 1-1 and will play their first division game against the Patriots on Thursday. Here are some thoughts and observations from Sunday's game.
1. If Haason Redick wanted to dominate the Jets, he got it. Jermaine Johnson is out for the season with a torn Achilles, which leaves the Jets severely thin on the edge rushers anchoring this defense. Currently, Michael Clemons and Will McDonald are starters, with Takk McKinley and rookie Brayden McGregor backing them up.
Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich's defense relies on putting pressure on the quarterback with their front four. They are not a hard blitz team, and if they can't get to the quarterback with their front line, the defense falls apart.
That means general manager Joe Douglas will be on the phone with Redick's agent, Tory Dandy, on Monday to try to find a solution to acquire him. The Jets aren't going to give Redick a long-term, big-money extension, but can they find a stopgap deal that satisfies him? Can they give him a two-year contract and raise his annual salary to the $14.25 million to $20 million range? Will Redick back down when he realizes he's not making more money by missing games? This resistance has already cost Redick about $7 million; each missed game will cost him another $800,000.
Johnson's injury is likely a spur to action. It's time for the two sides to compromise and figure out a way to get Redick in uniform. The Jets' season may depend on it.
2. This was not a pretty win. The Jets looked sluggish in the first half, both offensively and defensively. But it was still a very good win for the Jets. First, Aaron Rodgers proved his worth in the fourth quarter. Rodgers didn't have a great game (18 passes for 176 yards), but he was a big player on the game-winning drive at the last minute.
What was impressive to me, beyond just winning, was the hunch that Rodgers would get it done. When the Jets scored early in the third quarter, I had a hunch that the Jets were going to win the game. It was obvious that the players and coaches felt that way, and I'm sure the fans felt that way too. That's very unusual for this franchise. Over the last few years, it's always felt like we're waiting for the quarterback to make a big mistake. But Rodgers doesn't make a fatal mistake. On Sunday, it was the Jets' opponent, Will Revis, who made the big mistake.
Watching Rodgers throw passes to Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams on the deciding drive gave me confidence that the Jets finally have a quarterback in their hands. Rodgers may not play at an MVP level this season (he looked shaky early on), but the Jets don't need him to play to that extent. If he can protect the ball and make plays in the fourth quarter, that will be enough for this Jets team.
3. Another aspect of this win that is so meaningful is that we are not talking about Robert Saleh’s job performance. If the Jets had lost this game and gone 0-2, Saleh’s job performance and stability would have been a topic of discussion for three days leading up to the Patriots game. I feel foolish to discuss job stability after two games, but I know that would have happened. Just look at the Giants across town. If they had lost, there would have been intense pressure in the Jets’ building this week. Instead, they can prepare for the Patriots game with peace of mind, without anyone speculating about Saleh and Douglas’ future. There are many reasons why the Jets needed this win, but I think the biggest reason is that it relieved some of the pressure that was building after the loss to the 49ers.
4. For me, the key moment of the game was Revis' fumble in the red zone. The Titans were on the offensive in the second quarter and were looking to take a 14-0 or 10-0 lead. That could have changed the way the Jets played offensively, but Revis inexplicably blew the ball away when he was tripped by Will McDonald. Quincy Williams recovered the fumble and the lead remained 7-0.
The Jets defense still looked shaky and they should be thanking Revis for saving them. The Jets defense wasn't very good in coverage and Sauce Gardner was part of the problem, but that's unusual. Calvin Ridley put pressure on the Jets. He's a good receiver, but the Jets will be facing players at his level or better this season so they need to be aware of the situation.
He ended up with four sacks, but Revis broke out of the pocket for multiple long gains and also committed some egregious fouls that cost the Titans first downs in the first half.
The defensive performance was better than in Week 1 at San Francisco, but there are still areas to improve on. The Jets believe they are an elite defender. It hasn't looked that way in their first two games.
Statistical data disclosure
The last time the Jets scored three touchdowns in consecutive games was in 2021 against the Bengals and Colts.
An astonishing number of snaps
Xavier Gipson looked like he'd be a big part of the offense in training camp, but he didn't stand out on Sunday. Gipson only played six snaps (11%) against the Titans. The Jets looked to be using their tight ends a lot early in the game, so it was odd to see Gipson play so little.
Game ball
Braylon Allen is the first Jets rookie running back since Shawn Green to score two touchdowns in a game. Allen is just 20 years old and showed what a powerful and quick runner he is in this game. Allen and Breece Hall could give the Jets a great one-two punch at running back.
