The New York Jets’ brutal schedule is finally beginning to soften, and Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium presents their best chance yet at getting a win, at least on paper.
Gang Green hosts the Carolina Panthers, who have been one of the worst teams in the NFL over the previous two seasons. But things are changing, and the perception of the NFC South side has the Jets entering Week 7 as home underdogs, and understandably so.
This is the third time in franchise history that the Jets have started a season 0-6. They were 0-8 to start a 1996 season in which they finished 1-15 and were 0-13 under Adam Gase in 2020, finishing at 2-14.
Will Aaron Glenn’s misery continue? Or can the Jets finally figure out a way to pull out a win in 2025?
Let’s take a look ahead toward Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kick-off (FOX).
Not the same old Panthers
These Panthers are no pushovers, and it creates the very real possibility of this nightmare extending for Gang Green.
After going 2-15 two years ago and 5-12 last season, Carolina is 3-3 through Week 6, having gone 3-1 in their last four games. They are coming off a 30-27 victory over a Dallas Cowboys team that dismantled the Jets just two weeks ago, and now have an opportunity to be over .500 through seven weeks for the first time since 2019.
Bryce Young is showing signs of developing into a competent starting quarterback. The former No. 1 overall pick has thrown for 1,150 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions through his first six games. He has a legitimate weapon at his disposal in rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who has 27 catches for 380 yards and two scores. Running back Rico Dowdle also ranks fifth in the NFL with 472 rushing yards.
A stingy run defense, which ranks ninth in the NFL with 94.5 rushing yards allowed per game, is not a great matchup for the run-dependent Jets and Breece Hall, who ranks 11th in the league with 410 rushing yards.
Will Fields’ leash shorten?
Quarterback Justin Fields is coming off his worst game yet as a Jet, completing just nine of 17 passes for 45 yards in a 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. In no way has he proven that he is capable of being the team’s franchise quarterback yet, but Glenn has insisted that he is the man under center for the time being.
“He took a step back. I’m with you guys 100%,” Glenn said earlier this week. “We can’t have that. We have to be better than that, and he knows that. He knows that better than anyone. I don’t think you just try to bench a player after having one true bad game.”
But unrest appears to be brewing within the Jets’ ranks. Players have been lobbying since the preseason for backup Tyrod Taylor to take over as the starter, believing that he is the team’s best option this season.
A clunker on Sunday will only strengthen some of those internal shouts.
Latest on Garrett Wilson
Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson sat out of practice on Wednesday with a knee injury that he suffered during Sunday’s loss in London to Denver. While ESPN reported that he avoided a major injury — it is a hyper-extended knee following an MRI on Monday — and will miss some time, Glenn is not ready to rule him out just yet.
“We’ll see how he progresses during the week,” Glenn said.
Wilson is once again the Jets’ leading receiver and the true north star of a mediocre passing game that Fields has been unable to amplify. He has 36 catches for 395 yards and four touchdowns. The wide receiver with the most catches behind Wilson is Josh Reynolds, who has just eight.
