Thursday night was the New York Jets’ biggest opportunity of the Aaron Glenn era to date.
The playoffs were already out of the question. But if the Jets could make it three straight wins by snapping the seven-game win streak of the top team in their division—their most despised rivals—and do it on prime time? On the road?
It would make Jets fans proud, the precise goal that Aaron Glenn established before the season.
The Jets couldn’t pull it off, dropping to 2-8 with their 27-14 defeat in Foxborough.
Despite missing the golden opportunity to make a statement about the direction of their rebuild, it’s not as if Glenn and the Jets deserve scathing criticism for their performance on Thursday night. They were 12.5-point underdogs, and they lost by 13.
The team’s performance was par for the course.
The Jets didn’t achieve a rousing statement victory, nor did they even manage a toe-to-toe loss. But they also didn’t suffer the colossal blowout that Jets fans have been trained to expect. That’s worth something, right?
New York came out looking prepared, marching down the field for an eight-minute touchdown drive to open the game. While they couldn’t build on that momentum, they stuck around for four quarters, never allowing the game to get out of hand. New England’s largest lead of the game was only 14, and they led by just seven entering the fourth quarter.
The Jets came within 13 yards of making this a one-score game late in the fourth quarter. And while they spent most of the night in catch-up mode, it often felt like the Jets were primarily beating themselves as opposed to being physically overmatched.
The Jets’ offense created numerous opportunities to hit big plays downfield, but continuously missed them due to bad throws or drops. The defense blew chances to pick off passes and extended drives with silly penalties away from the play. This game had the feeling of one that New York could have stolen if not for self-inflicted errors.
Should the Jets hang a banner that reads, “Trailed By Just Seven Entering The Fourth Quarter Against The Patriots, 2025”? Absolutely not. This is a results business, and close losses don’t deserve flowers—let alone 13-point losses. Celebrating mediocrity won’t get the Jets any closer to where they want to go.
But it’s important to keep things in perspective when critiquing a franchise. Take a glance at the roster that New York put on the field in Foxborough.
The Jets are far away from having the pieces required to beat a team like New England.
So, while we shouldn’t build Aaron Glenn a bronze statue for losing by 13 to the Patriots, the caliber of the Jets’ roster deems it unfair to direct too much ire toward him or the team for not performing better.
We live in a social media-driven world where every sports outcome demands a strong response. Sometimes, though, things are just average, not requiring glimmering positivity or fiery vitriol.
This was a “meh” performance by the Jets. It did nothing to change the direction of the team in either a positive or a negative way. That’s how this game should be looked at.
We learned exactly what we already knew about the Jets: They’re a 2-8 team that fights hard and has some promising pieces, but cannot dream of competing with the big boys until they find a franchise quarterback, more weapons at wide receiver, and some pass rushers.
That’s who the Jets have been all season, and little has changed.
Even when they put together their two-game win streak, the Jets didn’t necessarily play much better than they did over their 0-7 start. Those were just the latest two of their seven one-score games this season; the only difference is that they finally got the ball to bounce their way, with some help from two abysmal Ohio-based teams.
Against the Patriots, the Jets maintained essentially the same quality of play they’ve been providing for much of the year. But while that quality of play is enough to scrape by the Browns and Bengals, it’s only enough to give the Patriots a mini-scare.
In fairness to Glenn, the Jets have been playing up to par for a while now. Through five games, the team’s home no-shows against the Bills and Cowboys were inexcusable, as was their wire-to-wire loss to a then-winless Miami team without Tyreek Hill for half the game. Since then, though, it’s hard to claim the Jets’ results “should” be much better.
That isn’t to say Glenn deserves “credit,” as he doesn’t have them overperforming, either.
On Thursday, the Jets showed us that they are exactly who we think they are: A team that’s a long way off, just like they signed up to be.
They’re not an astronomical embarrassment to their fanbase, at least not relative to the new timeline and expectations they created at the trade deadline. They’re also not doing anything to make their fanbase proud.
This is a 2-8 team with gaping holes at most of the premium positions on the football field. They have ample assets to fill their holes in the coming years, and we will have to wait and see whether they can make the most of those assets.
In the meantime, they aren’t playing much better or worse than you should realistically expect. They signed up for the long-term build when they traded their two best players, and the ensuing result is a roster that could pass for the starting lineup of the final preseason game. That roster isn’t outperforming expectations, but it also isn’t getting embarrassed to the degree that it could.
Is that a good or bad sign for Aaron Glenn?
Probably neither.
An outstanding coach and organization would have found a way to win in Foxborough; that game ended up being much more attainable than expected, given the on-paper talent discrepancy. A great coach would have at least given the Patriots a legitimate scare.
A bad coach would have watched his undermanned team fold like lawn chairs just from the mere sight of Tom Brady’s statue, allowing the Pats to rack up a classic prime-time Jets beatdown, reminiscent of their 45-3 demolition in 2010 or the 33-0 comedy sketch in 2019.
A mediocre coach has his team play precisely to the point spread.
For now, Aaron Glenn is starting to look like a mediocre coach, and the Jets are starting to operate like a mediocre organization. That’s nothing for fans to do backflips over, but it’s noteworthy progress from where they started the year.
Over the last five games, the Jets have a +14.5 plus-minus against the spread. Their combined point spreads indicate they were expected to have a net margin of -28.5 over those games, but they were actually a -14, which means they’ve outperformed expectations by two touchdowns. Compare that to the first five games, when their ATS plus-minus was -26.
The Jets began the year playing well below their already low expectations, and now, they’re essentially meeting the even lower expectations placed upon them after a deadline fire sale. There’s minor progress happening, but nothing worth celebrating, although there isn’t much worth chastising, either.
For once, it’s time for New York fans and media to toss aside their characteristic hot takes about the Jets, and instead, merely shrug their shoulders and mutter… “eh.”