Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings gave the Green Bay Packers offense all they could handle in Week 1, and they could be facing a similar test against Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets on Sunday.
Similarly to Flores, Green Bay will be very familiar with Glenn, who coordinated the Detroit Lions defense between 2022 and 2024 before becoming the head coach in New York, and Matt LaFleur will need to lean on all of his experience against Glenn to have success on offense this week.
Three things to know on the Packers offense against the Jets defense ahead of Week 2:
Offensive line must handle the blitz
The offensive line will also need to do a much better job protecting Jordan Love than they did a week ago, as the same kind of threat could be posed by the Jets.
Minnesota ranks first
in the NFL in blitzes involving six or more players since the start of last season. New York is sixth. The Jets rank 15th in blitz rate, but between 2022 and 2024, Glenn’s Detroit defense ranked 3rd in that regard.
Last year, the Jets only ranked 31st in pressure rate, but was 16th in Week 1 at 38.5%.
Will McDonald, who popped up on the injury report on Thursday with an ankle, was a particular threat with five pressures and a sack.
There were five Jets with at least three pressures against the Titans, including Kingsley Enagbare and David Bailey, as well as defensive tackle David Onyemata and linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Pressure was coming from all angles, not just around the edge.
There are encouraging stats from a Packers standpoint to counter this. Since 2025, Jordan Love ranks fourth among quarterbacks in expected points added (EPA) per play against six or more pass rushers. Christian Watson ranks sixth among receivers and Tucker Kraft is also sixth at tight end.
However, the problem is not whether Love is capable of dealing with these looks, but the Packers offensive line, which was overwhelmed by the intense pressures Flores sent last week.
The focus on offense entering this game will be much the same. Give Love enough protection and he will gash an aggressive defense. The Jets ranked 31st in EPA per pass on defense in 2025 for a reason. Aggressiveness does not equal good.
Fail to protect him though, and it could get ugly. It does not need to be perfect, and Love has shown he can overcome a lot, but there were too many plays last week that had no shot.
Packers could feast on man coverage
Unlike Flores, Glenn has used man coverage much more liberally during his career. His Jets rank fifth in man rate since 2025 (although they were only 16th last week) and his Lions were third across the previous three seasons.
In Detroit, Glenn’s defense allowed the fourth lowest completion rate but were 20th in EPA per pass, indicating a ‘feast or famine’ style similar to what Minnesota was content to play last week, albeit in a different way with much more man coverage from Glenn.
Again, the Packers would seem to have answers. Love ranks first in EPA per play against man since the start of last season and fourth in success rate.
Matthew Golden, who is coming off an impressive week one performance, ranks sixth among receivers, Christian Watson is 12th and Kraft is sixth at tight end. It could be a big game for the trio who combined for over 300 receiving yards and two touchdowns last week.
Run game could struggle again
On the ground, Glenn’s defenses have not been strong against the run, ranking 24th in EPA per rush with the Jets since 2025 and 29th with the Lions between 2022 and 2024.
New York did rank sixth in stuff rate since the start of last season though, perhaps in part due to deploying heavy boxes at the fourth highest rate. It is consistent with his time in Detroit, when they stacked the box at the fifth-highest rate, and is similar to Flores, whose Vikings defense ranks first since 2025.
That could be bad news for a Packers offense that struggled to run the ball last week with inexperienced running backs and a lackluster offensive line. They rank 21st in EPA per rush against seven-man boxes since 2025 and 30th versus eight or more.
The answer once again should lie in the pass game. Green Bay is fourth in EPA per pass versus seven-man boxes and first against eight since 2025. Watson is ninth in EPA per target against seven in the box and sixth versus eight.
It all hinges on whether the O-line can get their act together and give Love enough time to operate. It would be hard to be as poor as they were against Minnesota, and perhaps this could be a ‘get right’ game as they look to quickly show they can hold up against aggressive defenses.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 3 things on Packers offense vs Jets: Can O-line rebound vs the blitz?
