It’s easy to point to the turnovers. It’s natural to highlight how many times the Jets have literally given away control of games this season.
Because without three fumbles — including Braelon Allen’s miscue near the goal line — the Jets (0-4) might have secured their first win of the season against the previously winless Dolphins on Monday.
Without Xavier Gipson’s fourth-quarter fumble against the Steelers, Aaron Glenn likely would have earned his first win in his debut.
And without a pair of turnovers in Tampa — including a Tyrod Taylor pick-six just before halftime — the Jets may have upset the Bucs instead of losing in the final seconds.
Without the league’s worst turnover margin (minus-7), the Jets wouldn’t have suffered three one-possession losses, and be entering Sunday’s game against the Cowboys (1-2-1) as one of three winless teams in the NFL.
“There are some things that we know we have to do to clean those things up, and most important is the turnovers,” Glenn said Tuesday. “We cannot turn over the ball and expect to win those games. … If we clean those things up, I think we’ll be happy about the direction that we’re going.”
Even with numerous, ill-timed turnovers, the Jets have had their chances. But extra opportunities haven’t been provided.
The Jets are the first team in two decades — and fifth in the past 90 years — to lose their first four games without recording a takeaway.
In Glenn’s final three seasons as Lions defensive coordinator, Detroit averaged 1.3 takeaways per game, never finishing worse than 18th in the league. Last year, the Jets averaged one per game, down from 1.6 (No. 7 in the NFL) in 2023.
The Cowboys have committed six turnovers (four interceptions, two fumbles) through four games.
“Defensively, we have to emphasize taking the ball away,” Glenn said. “We have to in practice, every time the ball’s in the air, we have to attack the ball. Every time the runner has the ball, we have to go for the punch-out, while still trying to make the tackle.”
The former Jets star cornerback has yet to make his mark on a unit that ranked among the league’s top five in total defense the previous three seasons.
Currently, the Jets rank 20th in total yards allowed (330.3), 25th in rushing yards allowed (130.5), 23rd in first downs allowed per game (20.5), 30th in yards per completion (10.9), 24th in sacks per game (1.5) and 30th in drives allowing a touchdown or field goal (54.8 percent).
Most importantly, the Jets have allowed at least 27 points each week, ranking 28th in scoring defense (30.0)
“They were put in some bad spots [Monday] and you can’t put your defense in bad spots when it comes to the turnovers,” Glenn said. “Still, the name of defense is limiting points. The thing we have to do is limit points. When they do get those turnovers in our territory, we got to force them to kick field goals and not give up touchdowns. I know it’s tough for a defense to be put in that situation, but we have to live for those moments.”
October offers reasons for optimism.
The Jets — who have the third-easiest remaining schedule (.433 win percentage) — face Dallas’ 31st-ranked defense, as well as the Panthers, Browns and Joe Burrow-less Bengals.
But discipline remains another roadblock.
After committing 13 penalties on Monday, the Jets are averaging eight penalties per game (23rd) and 72.8 penalty yards (28th), following back-to-back seasons averaging the most flags in the league.
Star cornerback Sauce Gardner said he believes the Jets are flagged more “based off of us not winning.”
Just win, baby.
“Here’s what I do know, you have to earn the right to get a lot of these calls,” Glenn said. “There were a number of calls in that game I felt that didn’t go our way that I thought we should’ve gotten … [but] we had a good amount of penalties on our end that we have to clean up. We’re talking about a team that had two years of leading the league in penalties and we’re still trying to clean those things up. But I don’t want to put it all on that. I want to talk about that in-house and make sure we do everything to clean those things up.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
