The Jets emerged victorious in Week 1 over the Tennessee Titans. Let’s hand out some game balls to celebrate the top performers in the win.
Geno Smith: Smith was very efficient in his first Jets start in almost a decade. After a quiet first half, Smith shredded Tennessee in the final two quarters to help the Jets put the game away and turn it into a laugher. Most importantly, he avoided major negative plays. The Jets’ 2026 success depends in no small measure on Smith avoiding sacks and turnovers.
Through one game he has done the job.
Breece Hall: Hall’s first game after receiving his new contract produced over 100 rushing yards. Just as significant was his sky high 59.1% success rate on rushing attempts. Through his career, Hall has been viewed as a homerun threat who can be inconsistent on a play to play basis. This was just one game, but Breece was able to put up 102 yards on 22 carries with a long of just 13 yards. He was consistently ripping off solid gains in this one. We will need to watch to see whether this is the start of a new trend.
Offensive Line: The guys up front deserve a lot of the credit for the respective success of Smith and Hall. The quarterback was not sacked and was only hit once during the game, while the Jets ran for 152 yards total. The Jets completely controlled the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball.
Demario Davis: The opening chapter of Davis’ third stint with the Jets was a success. He led the team in tackles with 8. His true impact on the defense went beyond that and is difficult to quantify. Watching the game, things were just more stable with Davis on the field. He was always in the right spot to clean things up. Tennessee’s offense wasn’t very threatening, but we saw none of the self-inflicted errors from a year ago. I think Davis’ presence had a lot to do with that.
Will McDonald: There were plenty of Jets standouts in this game who gave a game ball worth performance, particularly on defense. I’m going to single out McDonald. He gets plenty of criticism. There is a lot of focus on what he’s not as a player. For this week let’s appreciate what he is, a credible NFL pass rusher. He had a sack and generated consistent pressure through the second half. I thought he was the team’s most consistent pass rusher through the game.
Qwan’tez Stiggers: Whether or not Stiggers develops as a defensive back, it is becoming clear that he is likely at a minimum to have a long NFL career as a top special teamer. He was in the middle of three big Jets special teams plays in Week 1, directing a Titans blocker into the return man to prevent a punt return, recovering a fumbled kickoff, and downing another punt at the 2 yard line.
