Faria's Focus: Jets Pass First Test, But Must Keep Old Message Close

NASHVILLE, TN — If Aaron Glenn was thrilled with his team’s performance in the New York Jets’ 23-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, the head coach didn’t show it.

“We just went against a really good team, really good coaching staff," he said. "It's good to get a win. We're going to look at this, we're going to flush it, get ready to correct the mistakes, and get ready to move on."

On a similar track to mentors like Bill Parcells and Dan Campbell, Glenn’s victory over his predecessor meant little more than just the first opening game victory on a Sunday for the Jets since 2015.

Glenn understands the team’s history, though. And if New York is to build off a win against a lowly Titans team, focusing on the next step is the only way to move forward.

In that light, the team must also take a page out of a former four-time NFL MVP they had on the roster for just two seasons.

A trip down memory lane

A lot went wrong in the Aaron Rodgers era for the Jets. They won just six games in two seasons with him as a starter, and looked dysfunctional almost every week.

One thing the future Hall of Famer got right, though, was the mindset the team needed to adopt after one fateful game.

New York’s victory against Tennessee on Sunday was resounding. The only win that has come close to the level of domination was a Week 3 win over the New England Patriots in 2024. The Jets won the game 24-3. Afterward, though, Rodgers commented on the next phase the organization needed to take.

“Our biggest struggle is going to be handling success," Rodgers said at the time. "I think that's the mark of a great team."

Two years and an organizational overhaul later, the Jets must keep those words in the back of their minds. Can they build off of a dominant Week 1 win that will have people wondering if early predictions of the team were just wrong?

The 2024 Jets weren't able to. After their win over New England, the team lost five games in a row and nine of their next 10 games. It's what makes Rodgers' message so important to the current team now.

The next step

Winning in the NFL is hard. Finding consistency in wins is even harder. While some would argue New York’s dominant win over the Titans should not be taken seriously, the importance of beating any team by two scores should not be taken lightly.

What happens next will ultimately determine the Glenn era, though.

It won’t necessarily be enough to just beat up on weaker teams. The Jets must also focus their efforts on finding ways to beat teams that are perceived to be better than them.

To Glenn’s further credit, that goal is firmly in the team’s mind going forward.

“The only thing that we're doing is we're just following our plan, and that's it," Glenn said. "We're happy to get a win. It's only one game."

Learning how to consistently win, not getting ahead of themselves and their goals, is the next step for the Jets. It will take a recommitment to the principles set forth by Glenn, and even greater execution than was shown on the Nissan Stadium field.

“It’s just the right way to start the season," Jets starting guard Joe Tippmann said. "I guess my rookie year we started off 1-0, but it's been a while since we've been there. So, it feels good to be back here. We just got to kind of go watch the tape, and then wipe this game, and on to next week we got Green Bay at home."

The bar has been raised after a win like the team enjoyed on Sunday. The next step is continuing their success, even if it has come so rarely in team history.

Since their 10-year streak of below .500 football began, New York has won at least two consecutive games just 10 times. They’ve won three games in a row just four times during that same stretch. The team has struggled to pull wins together and end losing streaks with competent play.

This is the next step of Glenn’s rebuild, though. They need to show they can sustain the success felt from the win over Tennessee.

If there’s one thing Rodgers left behind that the team can take away from in a positive manner it’s that.

And Glenn will try to keep that goal in mind going forward

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