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New York Jets 2025 NFL Season Preview and Picks: Will Aaron Glenn End the NFL’s Longest Playoff Drought?

Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar25/08/2025 - 11:44 am
Justin Fields #7 of the New York Jets in action
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The New York Jets have missed the NFL playoffs the last 14 seasons, the longest active drought in the league. In fact, they haven’t even finished second in the AFC East since 2015, which was coach Todd Bowles’ rookie year when he won 10 games behind some surprisingly clutch moments from new veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Well, it looks like the Jets are trying to repeat that kind of success in 2025 with a rookie defensive-minded coach in Aaron Glenn and a shaky veteran quarterback in Justin Fields after the Steelers decided they wanted Aaron Rodgers instead of anyone they had in 2024.

But the Jets have moved on from Rodgers after two disappointing seasons. They’d actually be a great candidate for a bounce-back season in 2025 after blowing six fourth-quarter leads (NFL high) in 2024 to finish 5-12, a team that played better than its record but had a lot of shortcomings in closing games.

However, this combo of Glenn and Fields could also struggle in this regard, so the expectations are not very high for the Jets who have a preseason win total of 5.5 wins with juice on the over. But they are obviously favored to miss the playoffs again in a division where the Bills have been in control since 2020, the Patriots could be on the rise with Mike Vrabel, and Miami has mastered the art of profiting from mediocrity.

Let’s look at the end of the Rodgers era, why Glenn/Fields may be short lived together, and the best Jets bets for 2025.

Previously on JETS: Burn It All Down

Guess we’ll never really know if the Aaron Rodgers era was going to work or not in New York after he tore his Achilles on the opening drive of the 2023 season, but the evidence points to it being a bust. That injury led to one lost year, then the team peaked at 2-1 last year.

Just two losses to the Broncos and Vikings later, the 2-3 Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh, a hasty move that likely shouldn’t have been made until the end of the season. But Rodgers was accused of pulling the strings, including the release of wide receiver Mike Williams – he was the target on some game-ending interceptions Rodgers threw in losses to the Vikings and Bills – and the trade for Davante Adams, his BFF, from the Raiders.

But even with the coach gone and the receivers Rodgers preferred, this team started 3-10 after finding every way in the book to blow games in the fourth quarter, including six leads:

  • On a bad weather day against Denver, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in a 10-9 loss.
  • Rodgers’ attempt at a 17-point comeback in London against Minnesota came up short on the last drive when he was intercepted with 0:44 left in a 23-17 loss.
  • The Jets hung tough with Buffalo on a Monday night, but Zuerlein missed a 43-yard field goal in a tied game with 9:44 left, and the Bills won 23-20 after another Rodgers pick intended for Big Mike Williams.
  • In New England, the Jets took a 22-17 lead late, but the defense let Jacoby Brissett drive 70 yards for a game-winning touchdown in a 25-22 loss.
  • Similarly, the Jets blew a 27-22 lead to the Colts after Anthony Richardson ran for a game-winning touchdown with 0:46 left.
  • The Jets blew another 5-point lead to the Seahawks, a 26-21 loss where Rodgers took a third-down sack inside the 30 before throwing incomplete on 4th-and-15.
  • The Jets blew a 23-15 lead in the fourth quarter to Miami, which tied the game twice (once in the final minute) before scoring a touchdown on the only drive of overtime in a 32-26 loss.
  • Even against the Rams, the Jets blew a 9-6 lead before the offense turned it over and the backup kicker missed a 49-yard field goal with 1:57 left in a 19-9 loss.

The Jets tied for the 2024 lead with 11 games with a game-winning drive opportunity, but they were just 3-8 in those games. The only night where things looked good was the comeback win against the Texans when Rodgers shook off one of the worst halves of his career and Garrett Wilson made an incredible 26-yard touchdown catch that likely secured his new bag with the team.

Rodgers was able to play every game in his age-41 season, but from the lowest yards per attempt (6.7) of his career to the blown leads and turmoil with the coaching and receivers, this team was a mess.

It was time to burn it all down and start over. Just save Garrett Wilson like you would any precious pets after torching the place.

Aaron Glenn May Be a Solid Hire But Pairing Him with Justin Fields Is Not Ideal

Head coach Aaron Glenn of the New York Jets
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

By now, you should know the fastest and most proven way to turn around an NFL team is to bring in a new head coach and quarterback. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, Reid again and Alex Smith, Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, Dan Campbell and Jared Goff, etc.

But one thing the NFL has been moving away from is hiring a defensive mind to be a team’s head coach. Everyone wants the offensive wizards as they are more likely to have an impact on your quarterback, the most expensive and important position on your team. Plus, everyone wants someone known for coaching under the likes of Andy Reid, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan these days.

Even when you do sign a defensive coach, you better pair him with a franchise quarterback. That’s the move the Houston Texans made in 2023 when they hired DeMeco Ryans and drafted C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 pick in the draft. That’s worked out nicely to the tune of two playoff wins and division titles so far.

Stroud, of course, replaced Fields at Ohio State, but he was always a more pro-ready passing quarterback. Fields has struggled in his four NFL seasons, but the Jets signed him to a modest deal of $40 million over two seasons in a league where 19 quarterbacks are making more money than Fields with contracts at $33.3M and higher, including two backup/benched/injured players in Kirk Cousins (Falcons) and Deshaun Watson (Browns).  

So, it’s not like they are heavily invested in Fields for the long term here. But with Aaron Glenn, you are looking at a bit of a Robert Saleh situation here again for the Jets. Before getting hired by the Jets in 2021, Saleh spent four seasons as Kyle Shanahan’s defensive coordinator in San Francisco (2017-20), and he really only produced one great defense in that Super Bowl season in 2019. You could at least blame injuries for the decline in 2020.

But Saleh just never quite worked out for the Jets, and the quarterback position did have a lot to do with it. His defenses were rarely great too, however.

With Glenn, he’s a former cornerback who the Jets drafted in the first round in 1994 where he spent the first eight seasons of his career, so he does have a personal connection to the franchise. He’s coached defensive backs under Sean Payton in New Orleans, and we’ll just assume he didn’t teach Marcus Williams to do what he did on the Stefon Diggs touchdown in the infamous 2017 playoff loss to Minnesota.

Glenn has spent the last four seasons in Detroit as Dan Campbell’s defensive coordinator. The defense was terrible in 2021-22, improved slightly in 2023 before still blowing a 17-point lead in the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco.

But what may have made Glenn a top coaching candidate was his work last year with a Detroit defense that was greatly injured, including losing star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson in Week 5. The Lions still finished top 10 in a lot of key categories, including No. 1 on third down (32.4%), in by far the best results Glenn’s ever gotten out of his unit. They also were 7-1 in close games.

Glenn is 53 and should be someone with credibility having been in that locker room back in the day. But we’d be lying if he said he came to this job with a proven track record of defensive success like some other candidates could point to.

Also, this clip where he questions if the NFL is a passing league before citing where the 2024 Eagles ranked in raw passing and rushing yardage is indicative of why teams should generally avoid hiring such coaches.

Teams who lead as much as the Eagles did will run the ball more, inflating their rushing yards and deflating their passing. Also, Saquon Barkley was shut down in the Super Bowl and Jalen Hurts won Super Bowl MVP, so you really do need the quarterback to throw it too.

Contrast that answer with some of the things Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator from Detroit who took the Chicago job, had to say this offseason where he cited things like turnovers and expected points added (EPA), and it’s night and day at times between the offensive and defensive coaches in the NFL.

But it is going to be really important for the Jets to play great defense this year, because Fields has proven in four years that he’s a very limited quarterback in terms of the games you can rely on him to win for your team:

  • Fields is 0-22 as a starter when his team allows more than 20 points in a game – the 2024 Jets were 1-10 in such games.
  • Fields is 2-18 (.100) at fourth-quarter comeback opportunities, defined as games where he had the ball and trailed by one score in the fourth quarter or overtime – one of the worst records in NFL history.
  • Fields is 2-16 when he takes at least 4 sacks in a game, and his career sack rate (11.9%) is the highest among active players.

It’s just not that easy to win games where you have to basically hold everyone under 20 points and have the lead going to the fourth quarter and never relinquish it. Fields should have better coaching around him when most of his starts were with Matt Eberflus in Chicago. But we also saw in Pittsburgh last year that he still struggles with taking sacks, putting the ball on the ground, and finishing drives in the end zone.

The AFC has so many quarterbacks who can beat you in a shootout or lead a go-ahead drive in crunch time. Trying to contend with them with Fields is a tall task for any coach, and while quarterbacks can have breakout years later in their career on a new team, that usually happens to quarterbacks when they leave the Jets (Geno Smith, Sam Darnold), not when they join them.

One could argue backup Tyrod Taylor has been a better NFL quarterback than Fields, but even he has his shortcomings with a 4-22-1 (.167) record at fourth-quarter comebacks. So, if you were hoping for regression in that area this year, the Jets put together about the worst quarterback room in NFL history to rely on for that.

New York Jets Offseason Review

We covered the big moves at head coach and quarterback already. What about the coordinators here to help Glenn, and the new pieces on offense and defense from the draft and free agency?

Offense: Who Is Tanner Engstrand?

The Jets’ new offensive coordinator is Tanner Engstrand, which sounds like the name you’d get from an AI generator if Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan had a baby together. Engstrand is 42, spent a dozen years at San Diego college, a year with Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines in 2018, two years coordinating the offense for the D.C. Defenders (XFL), and he’s been with the Detroit Lions in various roles since 2020, including passing game coordinator the last two years.

So, Glenn was able to successfully poach someone from Dan Campbell’s staff to come along for the ride to New York. Sadly, it wasn’t Ben Johnson, but it’s also hard to picture Justin Fields running the offense that Jared Goff did in Detroit. They’ll have to adjust here.

One positive is that Fields and Garrett Wilson played together at Ohio State in 2019-20. Wilson averaged over 90 yards per game in a shortened 2020 season, though he did produce better numbers as a junior with C.J. Stroud in 2021. But Wilson has shown with the Jets that he is basically quarterback proof and will show up and show out for anyone throwing him the ball.

How much will Engstrand and Fields throw the ball this year? That remains to be seen. The Jets actually ranked No. 9 in preseason passing yards per game (209.3), but Fields was just 4-of-9 for 46 yards as the Jets didn’t give the starters many snaps in August. He rushed for a touchdown against the Packers too.

Backing up Wilson are wide receivers Josh Reynolds (former Lion) and Tyler Johnson (Rams/journeyman). Allen Lazard is still there too but is currently nursing an injury. It’s not a terrible group of receivers thanks to Wilson, but we’ll see if second-round rookie Mason Taylor (LSU) can bring a spark to the tight ends as an improvement over Tyler Conklin (now with the Chargers).

But this is probably going to have to be an offense that thrives with the ground game. Breece Hall still hasn’t rushed for 1,000 yards in any of his three seasons, and that rushing average has only continued to dip (5.8 to 4.5 to 4.2) since he was injured in his rookie season. But perhaps with an improved offensive line and the mobility of Fields making defenses play them differently than with a pocket passer like Aaron Rodgers, we could see Peak Breece Hall in 2025.

As for that offensive line, the Jets used the No. 7 pick on Armand Membou (Missouri), the highest-rated right tackle in this draft class, and some would say the best overall tackle. They already used last year’s first-round pick on left tackle Olu Fashanu, so there’s always room for improvement in his second season.

But 80% of the line is back with a top prospect at right tackle, so the probability for a good offensive line is high. You just have to understand that Fields is known for holding the ball long, which is why he gets into trouble with sacks.

If Engstrand can work some magic with Fields here, put his name on a short list of new coaching candidates for 2026, because that’s how it works these days in the NFL.

Lead by Defense?

It could very well be a year where the Jets are better on defense than offense. Glenn has brought Steve Wilks to be his defensive coordinator. Wilks, 56, has been around the game a long time, but it’s a little concerning that this is his sixth team since he had a failed stint as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018.

Wilks had a good 2023 as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, but after his defense gave up that walk-off touchdown to Patrick Mahomes in overtime of the Super Bowl, the team didn’t bring him back and he sat out last season.

The Jets had such a problem closing games last year that you just hope some regression to the mean favors them and a few more lucky bounces of the ball could go their way. But sometimes you have to help make your own luck, and the 2024 Jets just didn’t make enough impact plays to help force more turnovers.

Haason Reddick was too concerned with his money and proved to be a bust signing, registering just 1.0 sack in 10 games. The edge rush is again going to have to come from Will McDonald, the team’s 2023 first-round pick. He had 10.5 sacks and 24 quarterback hits, a considerable improvement over his rookie season (3.0 sacks and 5 hits).

Quinnen Williams is still the defense’s best player up front and made his third-straight Pro Bowl. The Jets also just got him some help in acquiring nose tackle Harrison Phillips from the Vikings in a late August trade for just a swap of sixth-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

The line looks solid, but a lot of attention will be on the secondary. Corner Sauce Gardner is still elite even if 2024 wasn’t his best season (9.3 yards per target allowed). He still only gave up one touchdown pass. But D.J. Reed is gone after a productive year, and the Jets signed Brandon Stephens, who was picked on often in Baltimore last year. You have to imagine that will continue this year as teams stay away from the Sauce, but Reed to Stephens is a downgrade, especially if Glenn plays aggressive man coverage like he did in Detroit.

The Jets also have a new safety in Andre Cisco from the Jaguars where he made 47 starts in his first four seasons. He was nothing special last year, but in replacing veteran Chuck Clark with Cisco, the Jets get younger at safety with a chance for some upside with a player in his fifth season.

Is it a defense that you’re going to trust to stop Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes in a big game? Probably not, but the Jets would have to play much better all around for those games to get big this year.

Quinnen Williams #95 of the New York Jets
(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Best Bets for the 2025 Jets   

You already know I’m not picking a team with Justin Fields to make the playoffs. But what about the over 5.5 wins? As always, let’s check the schedule.

  • It’s a tough September with Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers coming to town, the first Buffalo matchup, a trip to Tampa Bay where they score points, and then a Monday night in Miami.
  • October is slightly better with the Cowboys, Broncos, and Panthers coming to MetLife, and a road game in Cincinnati before the Week 9 bye.
  • A winnable home game with the Browns before a short week (Thursday night) to go face the Patriots, who should be better with Mike Vrabel.
  • Going to Baltimore is probably the roughest non-division game for the Jets all year.
  • Don’t sleep on the Falcons this year, but at least that game is at MetLife after Thanksgiving followed a week later by the Miami rematch.
  • The Jets are in Jacksonville before an easier trip to New Orleans in Week 16.
  • The Jets close with the Patriots and at Buffalo, and the only good news about their toughest division game at the end is maybe the Bills are resting starters with the playoff seed locked up.

The Jets were able to split with the Patriots and Dolphins last year, and it’s not far-fetched to think they can do it again. But 2-4 in the AFC East may be as good as it gets in 2025.

Then you do have some winnable games with the Browns, Saints, and Panthers. Maybe you steal a game from a mistake-prone team like the Cowboys or Falcons or even the Steelers in Week 1 after they decided to give Aaron Rodgers zero work in the preseason.

These betting lines are usually so reasonable as it really does look like the Jets should teeter between 5-12 and 6-11 this year. But even if regression is on their side in close games, they signed literally the worst quarterbacks you could to give yourself hope in such games. That’s why I’m going to take the under 5.5 wins here.

Glenn gets a pass no matter what happens this year, but the Jets may very well be – should be? – in the quarterback market again in 2026. Hey, maybe they’ll even end up with Arch Manning unless he follows his uncle Peyton, who shocked the 1997 Jets by returning to Tennessee for another year and declaring for the 1998 draft instead.

It’s the Jets. It’s supposed to end in heartbreak.

  • NFL Pick: New York Jets under 5.5 wins (+120) at FanDuel

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Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar25/08/2025 - 11:44 am