After a turbulent off-season, the New York Jets began their 2017 campaign against the Tennessee Titans in front of a lightly filled audience at MetLife Stadium. The time directly following a team’s first live game action is always an interesting one for players and fans alike. Overreactions are a dime a dozen. Players are declared as busts, or as franchise cornerstones, based solely on four quarters of action. As such, it’s important to note, especially when discussing a team with the youngest roster in the NFL, that each and every prediction should be taken with far more than a grain of salt. After all, seasons aren’t decided in August. That being said, let’s take at the most glaring takeaways from the New York Jets’ matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
New York Jets Preseason Week One Takeaways
Josh McCown Sharp in Debut
Former Cleveland Brown Josh McCown made his Jets debut Saturday night after signing with the team in March. McCown only needed four pass attempts to earn himself high marks for the night. After hitting Jalin Marshall in the numbers for a first down, McCown completed a 40-yard bomb to newly-appointed number one receiver Robby Anderson. The throw, dropped into double coverage to where only Anderson could snag it, was awfully impressive. After a season of blowing by defenders, only to fall victim to Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s erratic deep ball accuracy, it must have been a refreshing change of pace for Anderson to have the ball fall right in his lap. Anderson has the speed to hurt defenses. Escaping jams off the line with his rail-thin frame will be the Temple product’s most daunting challenge. McCown ended his night with a scoring strike to second-year wideout Charone Peake, then handed the reins to Christian Hackenberg. The 38-year-old finished with one drive, one touchdown, and a 156.2 passer rating for the veteran in his Jets debut.
Christian Hackenberg Plays Mistake-Free Football
The enigmatic Hackenberg, fresh off a rookie campaign that saw him take a grand total of zero regular season snaps, played almost three quarters on Saturday night. It was the kind of extended action that Jets fans have clamored for since the day he arrived in New York.
It was an interesting performance from the Penn State product. For a player that has been the subject of extensive media hyperbole, his performance was very much boring. Boring in the sense, simply, that he was neither extremely good nor extremely poor. He made no explosive plays, one way or the other. Instead, Hackenberg played within the strict confines John Morton‘s quick-hitting west coast offense. He was decisive and rapid in his decision making, resulting in short completions to an array of different targets.
No interceptions in 25 attempts is a reassuring sign. So too was Hackenberg’s accuracy. Having been oft-criticized for a perceived lack of accuracy, he hit his receivers in the numbers. Granted, the throws he was making were for the most part short, quick passes. But still, it’s a confidence builder for Hackenberg to play three quarters of mistake-free, accurate football against another NFL defense.
Impressive Defensive Performance
On Saturday night, a new look, post-Darrelle Revis Jets defense made its debut. And what a debut it was. The Jets, just a few months removed from one of the worst defensive seasons in team history, came to play.
The unit allowed only three points. They sacked the Titans quarterback a whopping eight times. They forced two turnovers, and allowed just 223 yards of total offense. It was a simply dominant defensive performance. It’s only the first game of the preseason, so it would be audacious to suggest that the defense is ready to be among the league’s best. That will likely take some time, especially with two rookie safeties in Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye starting in the defensive backfield. But the defense flashed its sizable potential in week one.
Jets defenders were in the backfield all night, delivering a few crushing hits on Titans quarterback Alex Tanney. Linebackers Josh Martin and Julian Stanford were particularly impressive, especially for players thought to be rotational depth pieces. So too was Jordan Jenkins, who appears to be the Jets’ best edge rusher. After a 2016 season in which quarterback pressure was virtually nonexistent, the Jets pass rush dominated in the first game of 2017.
