The New York Jets head to Tennessee to face their former head coach Robert Saleh and the Titans at Nissan Stadium for a Week 1 clash.
It's rare to say that the first game of the regular season is a must win, but for the Jets, it's important that they leave Tennessee with a victory.
Saleh will be looking for revenge against the team that fired him after only five games during the 2024 season. He brought in quite a few of his former players on the Jets and they'll want to send a message that they made a mistake letting them go.
Here are Jets Wire's three key matchups to watch in Week 1:
David Bailey vs. Dan Moore Jr.
While it was a bit surprising that Bailey wasn't listed with the starting defense, he'll see plenty of action on Sunday. Bailey had an excellent camp, showing off
the speed and strength that warranted making him the second overall pick in last April's draft. He may alternate with Kingsley Enagbare, who is better against the run, but Bailey will still have a significant role in his regular season debut.
He'll most likely be lined up against Moore Jr., who had a very forgettable first season in Tennessee. Moore Jr. finished with a PFF grade of 61.9, ranking him 62nd out of 89 offensive linemen. He allowed 48 total pressures including eight sacks. He was also penalized seven times last year. Bailey could also be lined up against JC Latham, the Titans first-round pick in 2023. Either way, he could have a field day on Sunday as both Moore Jr. and Latham combined to allow 15 sacks last year.
Garrett Wilson vs. Alontae Taylor
It'll be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Frank Reich will line up his top wide receiver, who is fully healthy after missing nine games last season with a knee injury. If Wilson is lined up outside, he'll most likely face off against Taylor, one of Tennessee's big free agent acquisitions this offseason. Taylor is a former second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints who signed a three-year, $58 million contract with the Titans.
Taylor is not an elite cornerback, but he played well in his final season with the Saints. He had 83 tackles, two interceptions, two sacks and 11 passes defended. Wilson should see plenty of targets on Sunday from Geno Smith and will be pumped up for his first game since November of last year.
Saleh’s Former Jets vs. the Current Jets
We knew that a few former players could potentially follow Saleh to Tennessee, but it’s pretty incredible how many former Jets are back with him on the Titans. Jermaine Johnson, Jacob Martin, John Franklin-Myers, Solomon Thomas and Tony Adams will all see action on the defense. Earlier this week, the Titans worked out two former Jets receivers, Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee. Michael Carter, Jalyn Holmes and Isaiah Oliver are on the Titans practice squad. It’s admirable they love playing for their head coach, but that doesn’t necessarily make them impact players either.
While I've always felt the revenge game storyline is very overrated, there looks to be some hurt feelings from Saleh's former Jets players, notably Solomon Thomas, about his abrupt firing after the team's 2024 Week 5 loss to the Vikings in London. In an interview with The Tennessean, Thomas gave Saleh a pass and felt he didn't deserve to be fired, even though that Jets team was 2-3 and Saleh's career record as the head coach was a terrible 20-36.
Rest assured, The former Jets will want to win this one for their head coach. Aaron Glenn must have this team prepared to play. On paper, the Jets are the better team. It would be a terrible look for the head coach if they lost to a team of misfits that weren't very good when they played in New York.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Jets at Titans: 3 key matchups to watch in Week 1
