The New York Jets lost 34-32 on Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They got a great offensive performance from new quarterback Justin Fields, but the defense let them down in the fourth quarter. The Jets lost Aaron Glenn's debut, with Brandon Stephens and Xavier Gipson taking a lot of blame.
There is no blame to go around on the offense after Week 1. Fields accounted for over 270 total yards, both Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall scored touchdowns, and the young tackles looked the part. There are places to improve on the offense, especially with Fields' decision to run vs pass in key situations. But the blame lands on the defense and special teams, which need to be improved.
The Jets host the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, and these players will be under the spotlight after poor Week 1 performances.
Brandon Stephens struggled in his Jets debut
The Jets lost DJ Reed to the Detroit Lions in free agency, opening up the CB2 position opposite Sauce Gardner. They brought in Brandon Stephens after a rough season with the Baltimore Ravens on a three-year free-agent deal. He struggled mightily against the Steelers, and that will need to be cleaned up before Josh Allen lights him up next week.
“Brandon Stephens was targeted 7 times in Week 1, allowing 5 catches for 60 yards and 2 TDs. He was also flagged for DPI and had a 136.9 NFL passer rating when targeted,” The Jet Press on X, formerly Twitter, posted.
The Jets were lit up for four passing touchdowns by their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Gardner allowed only one catch, which was a fluky tipped-ball drill, so Stephens needs to step up.
A costly fumble from Xavier Gipson
If fans needed any proof that this was the first game of the Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn era, it came late in the fourth quarter.
Kene Nwangwu had won the kick returner job in the preseason, but left the game with a hamstring injury. The Jets turned to Xavier Gipson, a Joe Douglas-era draft pick, to return kicks after the injury. He ended up fumbling a kick that immediately led to seven Steelers points.
The Jets were winning 26-17 when Rodgers hurled his third touchdown pass of the game. Gipson fumbled the ensuing kickoff, handing the Steelers the ball on the 22-yard line. They scored two plays later to take the 31-26 lead. While Fields led the offense on another touchdown drive to retake the lead, the fumble cost them tremendously.
Unnecessary penalties cost the Jets again
Under Robert Saleh, mind-numbing 15-yard penalties became the norm on both sides of the ball. While that is hard to quantify in a win-loss record, it did cost New York games under their former coach. For the most part, that was cleaned up on Sunday against the Steelers. Linebacker Quincy Williams took an unnecessary roughness penalty early in the 4th quarter, which helped Rodgers toss that third touchdown that helped change the game.
The Jets won't compete for the Super Bowl this year and likely won't make the playoffs, even in a weak AFC Wild Card race. But if Aaron Glenn wants to be the coach when that becomes the goal, he cannot have his defense taking dumb penalties. Pass interference, unnecessary roughness, and roughing the passer have plagued the Jets in the past. That must end before the Jets take the next step.
Glenn did give his team credit for not having any false starts or illegal formation penalties, which they led the league in last year. “We have to continue to nip all of those things in the bud. For the past two years, we led the league in penalties. So when you go out and you don't have one false start penalty…our guys have been doing a hell of a job at trying to fix that. We're going to continue to do that,” Glenn said, per SNY Jets.
Aaron Glenn on the Jets' discipline and penalties:
"Last year, we led the league in false start and illegal formation penalties. We had one of those penalties yesterday. The plan is actually working the way that we want it to work.
We have to continue to nip all of those things… pic.twitter.com/8BvXKJnKNG
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) September 8, 2025
