For as much as Aaron Glenn says that these are not the “same old Jets,” they certainly look like it.
Gang Green found a new way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on Sunday, pulling off an improbable comeback to take a late lead on a Will McDonald IV blocked field goal, only to have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers march down in the final minute and hit a game-winning field goal for the 29-27 victory.
The Glenn era has started similarly to previous Jets regimes, with New York dropping to 0-3, and the concept of moral victories does nothing to improve the win column.
“I am not shaken by this at all,” Glenn said on Monday. “I have a ton of confidence in the guys that we have, I have a ton of confidence in the coaches that we have. But I do know this: we’re in a race to improve, and we have to do a good job of that.”
There is an argument to be made that Glenn’s Jets could be 2-1 after three weeks this season. But defensive collapses late in the game have loomed large, first doing so against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 before Sunday’s last-minute cough-up.
Defense was supposed to be the Jets’ strength, and Glenn was supposed to bolster it, considering he was responsible for rebuilding the Detroit Lions’ shambolic unit into a force. Instead, New York recorded just one sack and two knockdowns on Baker Mayfield despite the Buccaneers missing three starters from their offensive line. The secondary play has been poor, the linebacking corps has been mediocre, and there is an alarming lack of depth.
“There are a lot of games to play, and you can build on this,” Glenn said. “The one thing I don’t do, which I understand the New York media tries to do, is the negative parts of it. I’m not going to be that way… We’re going to look at the things that we did well; we’re going to continue to push forward because we’re going to improve. We’re going to make sure we get over that hump. I do know that.”
Their best chance to do so comes on Monday night against a Miami Dolphins team that is facing a crisis of its own amidst an 0-3 start. Should they find another way to lose, though, and things are going to start getting ugly early for Glenn.
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