With Aaron Rodgers on the Steelers and Justin Fields on the Jets, the tables have dramatically turned. The Pittsburgh Nation enters the 2025 season with a tough defense. But what do the Jets bring? In hopes of turning the team’s fate around, they hired Aaron Glenn. He has been on the job for more than six months and has made impressive changes, from the roster to, most importantly, the culture. But will that be enough when the Jets need it most against the Steelers in the regular season?
With the regular season approaching, NFL insider Mike Florio reminded fans of the hype behind the Week 1 matchup between the Steelers and Jets, calling it the “biggest” 1 PM Eastern game. “The eight games at 1:00 Eastern. Without question, the Steelers (vs.) Jets is the biggest one,” he said. He emphasized that people will probably tune into the game more to watch how the two teams that have their QBs swapped perform against each other.
And when speaking about the Jets, Florio expressed doubt over whether Glenn can help the team bounce back. “And I like where the Jets are going. I just don’t know how quickly it turns around. So, some of his comments from that preseason game, both at halftime and afterward, it just makes me wonder how much Aaron Glenn and the new coaching staff can really do to get the Jets to dramatically improve right away. And a lot of it’s going to depend on what Justin Fields is able to do,” Florio said, emphasizing the significance of the game.
This comes after Glenn called the team’s offense ‘sloppy’. The Jets’ preseason game against the Giants wasn’t the most pleasant picture for Glenn. The Jets managed just 333 total yards, for a 4.8 yards per play average in the game, proving the coach’s ‘sloppy’ comment. The HC now has a clear picture of where he needs to emphasize in the Jets. With the Jets getting defeated 31-12 by the Giants, the quarterback, Fields, also appeared unhappy.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA New York Jets Minicamp Jun 11, 2025 Florham Park, NY, USA New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn looks on during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Florham Park Atlantic Health Jets Training Center NY USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJohnxJonesx 20250611_rtc_ja1_0126
“I think it has to be better. It wasn’t up to our standard,” Fields admitted, who completed just one pass of his five pass attempts for four yards. However, that wasn’t the same for the team’s first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. The QB looked sharp, going 3-of-4 for 42 yards and a touchdown, and he didn’t take a single sack. This has also been an issue for the team.
Well, a QB might have a bad day and stats. However, the development from an impressive debut to the worst isn’t the one that the Jets hope for. While one can say that the Fields’ team faced one of the toughest defenses, the QB has also been struggling with consistency. His inconsistency was evident during the Jets’ training camps.
“Two observations from two days of Jets’ minicamp: 1. QB Justin Fields has a rocket arm and is capable of some impressive, precision passes. He may often follow those by sailing throws high and wide,” Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports, who closely followed the QB and his work during the Jets’ mandatory minicamp, said.
However, there were two players who showed their best amid the team’s struggle. While the coach had called out the offense during the game, he also praised the two players, Brandon Smith and Quentin Skinner. Both were the Jets’ top receivers at the game with 48 yards each. While Smith finished with one extra catch (five total), Skinner hauled in the team’s only touchdown late in the game.
Discipline issues add to Aaron Glenn’s challenges
One of the best parts of the game would be the head coach’s brutal honesty. In the postgame press conference, Glenn called out how the team was “undisciplined.” He pointed to the eight or nine penalties committed as a major issue. He stressed that if the Jets want to be a winning team, they must maintain consistency and clean up the mistakes.
Penalties were a trouble. The Jets committed two more penalties than the Giants and gave away 43 extra yards. After the game, the Gang Green is left with plenty to fix after committing extra penalties and getting outgained 478-333 in offense. However, now, the coach is focused on not repeating the same mistakes as before and getting better in the game.
“It’s the beauty of this game, because it always teaches you lessons. One week, man, you can be riding high because things are going extremely well. Then the next week, man, it can put you on your a–. It can put you on your a–. And the thing about it, man, if you want to be a winning team, you have to always do everything you can to stay at that level of always keeping things above board. And we didn’t do that today,” he said. Rather than downplaying the loss, he confronted the issues directly.
For the Jets, this brutal criticism from the coach and disappointing loss might fuel the team.
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