New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh appears to be feeling much more optimistic after a season-opening 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night than he did last season following an exhilarating Week 1 punt-return-walkoff win over the Buffalo Bills.
“Unfortunately, it does,” Saleh admitted on Tuesday morning. “I know we’re going to get the defense fixed. That’s not a problem. If that’s a problem, it’s not a problem, and I know we’re going to get a lot better from Week 1 to Week 2.”
The Jets’ defense was out-classed by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, yielding 401 yards, including 147 to backup running back Jordan Mason after superstar rusher Christian McCaffrey was a late scratch. New York also sacked quarterback Brock Purdy just twice, which puts further stress on the absence of Haason Reddick.
Yet the ceiling understandably feels much higher this season than it did last year. Aaron Rodgers got through a season debut healthy, which could not be said last season when his 2023 was cut short after just four snaps when he tore his Achilles.
In his first competitive action in a calendar year, the 40-year-old struggled at times, but a ramping-up process is to be expected — one that provided silver linings despite the loss in Santa Clara.
“You know, there’s no panic in him. He was a calm force on the sideline and I think last night provided a lot of closure for him with regards to finishing a game and knocking that out,” Saleh said. “I think I speak for everybody, especially on the offensive side of the ball, there’s a lot of confidence on that side. I know what it looks like, but I also know what the film looks like, and I know, just from a process of how the game happened, our offense is going to be really good this year.”
Much of that has to do with the continued maturation of star wide receiver Garrett Wilson and a reworked offensive line that had a few hiccups but showed it could hold up well for Rodgers and his weapons. The largest piece missing on the offense was Breece Hall, who struggled to find his footing in the loss despite scoring a touchdown. He fumbled on the Jets’ second drive of the game to set up San Francisco’s opening points, a field goal. He posted 54 rushing yards and an additional 39 receiving yards.
“[That kind of loss], that was a learning experience from last year,” Saleh said. “I’ve been watching film and managing is about getting on to the next game, doing our job, playing to the best of our ability, and taking care of what we can take care of in the moment.”
Gang Green’s next moment comes on Sunday afternoon in Tennessee, where they visit a Titans team that is projected to finish dead last in the AFC South. They dropped their opener to the Chicago Bears, squandering a 17-0 lead to lose 24-17 with the only touchdowns they allowed coming on a blocked punt and a pick-six.
Mistake-prone quarterback Will Levis could have some issues against the Jets’ defense, which will look to get right in Week 2. However, the Titans’ offensive line is coached by the veteran Bill Callahan and had a strong first showing as Tony Pollard rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries (5.1 average).
“We’ve got a great opportunity this week against Tennessee on a short week,” Saleh said. “They were very unfortunate not to come away with their game against Chicago, and they’ve got a lot of really good pieces. They’ve got one of the best o-line coaches in the history of football whose given us fits over the last few years, so it’s going to be a tremendous challenge, but like I said guys, it’s a 17-game season, we’ve got 16 of these left, and getting the defense fixed is not going to be a problem.”
