Jeremy Bergman’s takeaways

Jets start season at cruising altitude. Aaron Glenn didn’t earn his first win as head coach until Week 8 of his first season in charge. One game into 2026, his Jets boast a winning record for the first time since Week 3 of the 2024 campaign – and deservedly so. Gang Green was clicking all sides of the ball (with a few exceptions). Geno Smith played error-free ball, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers. Breece Hall and Braelon Allen paced the offense with a plus rushing attack (142 yards on 32 carries). New York dominated time of possession, in part thanks to a second-quarter near-12-minute drive. Glenn’s defense, much maligned in 2025, was stalwart, allowing just 112 yards and six first downs through three quarters as the Jets built a 20-3 lead. Qwan’tez Stiggers and the Jets’ special teams delivered some key stops and a takeaway on Titans returns, too. New York hasn’t looked this composed in all three phases in some time. The Jets’ lowly opponent notwithstanding, they couldn’t have asked for a better Week 1.
Underwhelming start of Saleh era in Nashville. Donning fresh kits and a new outlook, the Titans looked on Sunday like the same outfit that stumbled to a 3-14 campaign in 2025. Robert Saleh’s defense was run through and put little pressure on New York’s offensive line. Brian Daboll’s offense had no explosion; the Titans’ longest play was 14 yards, and Tennessee averaged just 4.0 yards per play. Cam Ward was swamped by the Jets’ pass rush, getting pressured on 41% of his dropbacks and taking three sacks. Nissan Stadium emptied out early, partially due to a stifling Tennessee heat but mostly due to the Titans’ poor play, leaving remaining local fans to boo and scream “Fire Saleh” audibly enough to be picked up by CBS boom mics, and a sizable Jets contingent to break out their notorious “J-E-T-S” chants. For Saleh, a former Jets coach, the result was the last thing he could have wanted. With so much new in Nashville, an adjustment period is to be expected. But the new-look Titans still look like a team at least a year away from contending.
Gang Green rookies don’t look green. The Jets used their three-first round picks to load up on talent with pass rusher David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. All three made their presences felt on Sunday, if only briefly. Cooper delivered a YAC-happy 30-yard catch-and-run on New York’s opening scoring drive. That march ended with a nifty end-around touchdown run for Sadiq, an athletic tight end with the motor to beat linebackers to the edge; in the process, Sadiq joined Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome (1978) as the only TEs in NFL history with a rushing TD in their first career game. Bailey got home in the third quarter, logging his first NFL sack (with help from the boundary), but was a constant force in the backfield. The No. 2 pick logged a game-high six QB pressures. The one drawback: Cooper was forced from the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. But for Bailey and Sadiq, the latter of whom was held out of most of training camp with an injury, the opener was an unquestioned success and hopefully for New York a sign of things to come.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Jets-Titans (via NFL Pro): The Jets ran from under center on 69.4% of called runs, their highest rate under Aaron Glenn, totaling 25 of their 36 called runs for 115 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Breece Hall led with 17 under center rushing attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown, including three explosive runs (10+ yards), tied for a career high.

NFL Research: The Jets outgained Tennessee by 172 total yards, their largest total yards margin in Week 1 since 2014, the last time Geno Smith was New York’s Week 1 starter.