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The Jets’ front seven dominated the Tennessee Titans offensive line in the team’s win in Week.
And based on how poorly the Green Bay Packers offensive line played at Minnesota in Week 1, it could happen again.
The metrics from the analytical community about the Packers’ O-line last week were awful.
According to NextGen Stats, Packers left tackle Jordan Morgan rated 60 out of 60 in pass block win rate.
They had 10 unblocked QB pressures.
Packers QB Jordan Love was pressured on 56.5 of his dropbacks.
The run blocking wasn’t much better. The Packers averaged just 3.4 yards per carry and had only 14 yards before contact on 21 carries.
So the Jets could be poised for another dominating game up front.
But don’t expect the level of domination from the Jets to be the same as what we saw from Minnesota, for a couple of reasons.
First of all, remember, in Week 1, there are so many unscouted looks to deal with, and clearly Minnesota, with blitz-crazy DC Brian Flores, was sending looks the Packers were not expecting. Remember, Week 1 is essentially a game plan you have three months to prepare for after the NFL announces the schedule in May.
Flores on 78 percent of passing downs.
Also, the Vikings play in one of the loudest stadiums in the league, so when you combine that kind of noise on the road with an offensive line in Week 1 trying to communicate switch-off blocks on myriad exotic blitzes, it can be a recipe for disaster, which it was for Green Bay.
Nothing against Jets fans, but it’s likely not going to be as loud at MetLife this Sunday, as it was in US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis last Sunday. First of all, few places are as loud as indoor US Bank Stadium for a Vikings home game. Secondly, expect a lot of Packers fans at MetLife Stadium, which is usually the case on the rare occasion that Green Bay travels to play the Jets on the road.
Also, expect the Packers to make a lot of adjustments to their protection packages entering a kind of must-win game in Week 2 . . .
We wrote a lot in the off-season and through training camp about the Jets’ need to improve their pass coverage at linebacker from last season.
In the Jets opener at Nashville, the linebacker coverage was fine, but you would argue they weren’t tested a lot by Cam Ward. Not a lot of throws to tight ends or running backs. The tight ends had to stay in a lot because the Titans were having significant issues with pass protection.
This week, we will find out more about whether the Jets have improved in this area, especially with one of the NFL’s best tight ends, Tyler Kraft, coming to town, and a much better QB getting him the ball (Jordan Love) than the QB distributing the ball. The Packers signed speedy tight end Jonnu Smith this summer, who has given the Jets issues in the past during his NFL career with six teams.
A fan named “Heavy D” tweeted at me on Twitter – “Man I wish we drafted Anthony Hill over Ponds.”
In the second round of the 2026 draft, the Jets picked cornerback D’Angelo Ponds when Hill, a linebacker from Texas, was also available.
The Titans picked Hill in the second round, and on Sunday against the Jets, he led both teams with 16 tackles. While that tackle total was impressive, don’t know how impact it was, considering the Jets ran for 152 yards, so perhaps some of those stops were after big chunk runs. The stat that would matter more, in terms of the linebacker pass coverage topic is that he led all players in the game with two passes defensed. On that monster 17-play drive by the Jets in the first half, that took up 11:48, Hill forced the Jets to kick a field goal with a PD on RB Braelon Allen in the red zone on 3rd-and-5.
So some would argue that picking Hill in the second round could have helped the Jets improve their pass coverage at linebacker.
However, it’s hard to argue with the Ponds pick. He was one of the better corners in the draft, and it’s really hard to pass up a cover guy like this while on the clock in the second round.
But, once again, Sunday will be a good litmus test for where the Jets linebacker coverage is at, much more so than last week’s game.
September 16, 2026
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