At 2-9, many Jets fans would prefer the team to lose out to obtain a better 2026 draft pick.
But Aaron Glenn says he is trying to build a foundation and believes it’s crucial for the Jets to win as many games as possible before the end of the season.
“I’m going to give you a line that you guys have heard before: You play the game to win, Glenn said. “It’s just not in a coach or players mentality to go out there and lose games. We’re not built that way.
“We’re built to go out there and play as hard as we can to try and get as many wins as we can. And then we let everything else take care of itself as far as draft and all that, but anytime we step on the grass, we’re trying to improve, and anytime we go into games, we’re trying to see what we did in practice, man can we make sure that transitions out on the field and hopefully that creates wins for us. There are some long-term goals that we have, because we have to have a blueprint, we have to have a vision of where we’re going, but man, we’re in the now of trying to get things done now, so never get that mixed up with how we’re doing.”
If Glenn and the Jets were genuinely trying to lose games, they wouldn’t have benched Justin Fields for Tyrod Taylor after the offense has been amongst the worst in the NFL. Taylor will start again for the Jets against the Falcons on Sunday.
The Jets are dead last in the NFL in passing yards (145.7) per game. Fields was supposed to revitalize his career with the Jets after signing a two-year, $40 million contract last spring. But he was benched for the second consecutive season. Following a 4-2 record with the Steelers last year, Fields was benched for Russell Wilson.
In nine games for the Jets, Fields has thrown for 1,259 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception while completing 62.7% of his passes. He is scheduled to make $20 million next season, including $10 million guaranteed. However, the Jets may decide to reset their quarterback room in 2026 by releasing Fields, drafting a rookie, and pairing him with another veteran quarterback.
Fields says he was surprised by his benching but pledges to become a starting quarterback again, whether with the Jets or somewhere else.
“I just know who I am as a person, as a football player, as a hard worker,” Fields said. “I think I know I have the mindset and the skill to attain that. I just feel like I need to do it on a more consistent basis, but that’s just what it is.
“It’s the ups and downs of life. But it’s not going to do anything but make me stronger on the back end of it.”
The Jets defense has entered uncharted territory. Through 11 games, the Jets have just one takeaway, a forced fumble and recovery, and no interceptions. They are the first team in NFL history to have just one takeaway in their first 11 games of the season.
This week’s game against the Falcons could provide turnover opportunities with Kirk Cousins under center. Last year, Cousins led the league with 16 interceptions in just 14 games before being benched for Michael Penix Jr.
After Penix suffered a partially torn ACL earlier this month, Cousins is once again Atlanta’s starting quarterback. That could potentially set up turnover opportunities for a Jets defense that’s been starving to register takeaways.
“It sucks, but we’re working towards it,” Jets cornerback Brandon Stephens said. “I think every guy on the defense is hungry to get one, and we just have to be more intentional about it.
“Whether that’s forcing a fumble, getting on it and making a play if the ball is thrown to us. It’s definitely not a good thing that we are last in the league in turnovers, but we still got more ball to play.
Sunday will mark the return of Jeff Ulbrich, who was the Jets defensive coordinator for four seasons. He was also the team’s interim coach after owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh five games into the 2024 season.
The Jets were 3-9 under Ulbrich, and Johnson hired Glenn as the team’s permanent coach. Ulbrich says it will be nice to return to MetLife and see a few familiar faces.
“There’s a few coaches that are still on the staff that, obviously, I’m very close with and have a lot of love for and spent a lot of time with,” “So it’ll be always nice to see them.
“But at the end of the day, it’s the next opponent. It really is. And I know that’s a cliche, but it’s the absolute truth. I think, to have sustained success, you have to approach every week that way. It’ll be good to see those guys, and it’ll be cool to just see something familiar regarding the stadium and the area that I lived in for four years there. But for this team and for myself, it’s just the next opponent.”
