Perhaps the New York Jets should thank the NFL’s schedule makers for matching them up with such a lowly opponent in the rebuilding Tennessee Titans to open the 2026 season. But Gang Green can only play the team in front of them, and on Sunday afternoon down in Nashville, they were the better one.
The Jets took care of the Titans 23-10 to record their first win of the season — just the fourth win of Aaron Glenn’s head-coaching career — in Week 1 of the new campaign, which is already a far better start than last year’s nightmare in which New York dropped each of its first seven games.
For us to go out and win this game with some of the issues that we had when it comes to penalties, some things that we could’ve done better at the end of the half,” Glenn said. “But we’ll clean those things up.
Glenn outcoached Robert Saleh, now the Titans’ leading man after a disappointing stint with the Jets from 2021-2024, specifically on the defensive side of the ball — a promising indication that his decision to get back into the defensive play-call fold was the right one. Last year’s defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, called the plays, and the Jets had one of the worst defenses in football.
On Sunday, while working alongside new coordinator Brian Duker, the Jets’ defense held the Titans to 195 total yards, with only 55 coming in the first half. Second-year quarterback Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, was limited to just 140 yards on 19-of-32 passing against a secondary that is full of question marks this season and took an almost immediate hit when veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left the game in the first half with an injury and never returned.
“It’s something that I missed doing,” Glenn said. “It’s a collective effort. I think everybody, the whole staff, did an outstanding job.”
The other new coordinator for the Jets, Frank Reich, has the offense looking much better than it did last season, and it started immediately. Rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq took an end-around in from three yards out to score the game’s opening touchdown.
The Jets could have scored on three of their first four drives, though Jason Myers missed a 54-yard field-goal attempt late in the second quarter of a 10-3 game. Quarterback Geno Smith, who was playing his first game as the Jets’ starting quarterback in nine years, was uber-efficient, completing 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards. That included a 40-yard connection to Adonai Mitchell in the third quarter.
“As long as he continues to be on [quarterback efficiency] and continues to understand that, I think he’s going to do a good job for us,” Glenn said. “I expect that from him. He’s a damn good player. There’s a reason why he’s here. He’s been through so much and understands that, but man, he still has a ways to go on some things he has to get better at, too.”
Running back Breece Hall, who dealt with a groin issue for most of the preseason, rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries. His score with 9:41 left in the third put the Jets up 17-3.
The 13-point margin of victory was the Jets’ largest since a Week 3 win over the New England Patriots in 2024.
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