4 Studs & 3 Duds from Jets' Week 1 Win Over Titans

NASHVILLE, TN — Sunday was considered a revenge game for many Tennessee Titans players and coaches when they battled the New York Jets. By the end of the game, however, any talk of revenge was drowned out by boos and silence.

New York dominated Tennessee on the road in an impressive 23-10 showing, with the score closer than the game actually was. The Jets recorded 152 yards on the ground while the defense dominated the day to give the team their first Sunday afternoon opening day victory since 2015.

As with any game, there were plenty of players who stood out, and even some that struggled. Let's go through the biggest studs and duds from the afternoon.

Stud: Jets defensive line

It was a dominant day for the entire Jets defensive line as a collective group. Let's start from the top. T'Vondre Sweat made multiple stops in the run game and even recorded a pressure. The former Titan who was traded for Jermaine Johnson made life miserable over the middle for Tennessee.

Then there were the edge rushers. Will McDonald, Kingsley Enagbare, and second overall rookie David Bailey each recorded a sack. While Bailey's sack was credited because Cam Ward ran out of bounds, it was still an impressive debut. He also had a tackle for loss to go along with four tackles.

New York will need to do a better job in containing quarterbacks who try to run outside the pocket, but this was a good debut for the new-look line.

Dud: Jason Sanders

It was...a day for Jason Sanders. After making a 33-yard field goal early in the contest, the veteran kicker whiffed on a 54-yarder that looked as though someone was playing NCAA Football 27 on extreme difficulty. The kick was heading for Texas, not the uprights.

That said, Sanders did battle back. He made two field goals of 50+ yards including one from 52 yards. New York is going to look at the tape on the field goals specifically because the group hasn't necessarily looked good this offseason, but the two made field goals at the end could have saved Sanders' job.

At the very least, this is something that will need more time to deliberate to see where they go.

Stud: Jets offensive line

The most dominant group on Sunday was not New York's defense or their star players. All played well, of course, but the big winners on Sunday were the offensive line.

The Jets ran for over 150 yards, and didn't allow Geno Smith to face any real pressure. Every time the Titans tried to blitz, New York was ready for it. Whenever a play needed to be made, the Jets offensive line gave the team plenty of time to make it. New York dominated the time of possession with nearly 40 minutes of control.

Forty. Minutes.

"Outstanding," Geno Smith said. "I don't think I got touched at all. That's always a great sign. We ran the ball well and when we needed to pass, I had the time to do it. They were outstanding."

That included a 19-play drive and several other big plays as well. The Jets can be successful this season, but it will be heavily based on if their offensive line can produce as they did throughout today's game.

Dud: Mason Taylor

A lot of players looked good on Sunday. One who unequivocally struggled was tight end Mason Taylor. The former second-round pick finished with negative receiving yards on two catches and dropped one target that could have very well been ruled a fumble. He was also called for a penalty that knocked the Jets out of the red zone in their second scoring drive.

It doesn't look good that the Jets first-round rookie Kenyon Sadiq was able to score a touchdown and make three catches for 21 yards while Taylor put up just two catches for negative two yards. He'll need a much better run over the next several weeks in order to keep his starting job.

Stud: Geno Smith

It has been nearly 10 years since Smith had started a game for the Jets. The 35-year-old showed exactly what you wanted to see, though, that makes fans excited about their offense moving forward.

Smith did not throw a touchdown pass, but he completed 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards. He led multiple scoring drives and also didn't put the ball in harm's way either. Remember, this was a quarterback who led the league in interceptions over the last two years combined.

Instead, when the Jets needed to make a play, he made it. Coming out of halftime, New York nursed just a seven-point lead. Then Smith found Garrett Wilson for a 31-yard completion and Adonai Mitchell for over 40 yards. Those plays set up the second touchdown drive. While that doesn't add a touchdown next to his name in the box score, it's a net positive play that shows Smith can operate this offense well.

If New York gets this kind of play from Smith, they are going to win a lot of games.

Dud: Robert Saleh

Maybe Woody Johnson was right after all. New York's owner took a ton of flack after moving on from the well-liked Saleh. He was the one who replaced him with another inexperienced, defensive-minded coach.

On Sunday, Johnson was proven right.

Saleh's Titans were a disaster. On both of New York's touchdown plays, the Titans only had 10 men on the field. They were also called for too many men once and needed a timeout to avoid it happening again. Add in multiple times Tennessee should have gone for it on fourth down only to punt, and you have a poorly coached game for the Titans.

If anything, Jets fans have seen that type of game before on their side. Luckily, they were on the other side of the coin there. And that leads us to the final stud of the day.

Stud: Aaron Glenn

No one needed a victory on Sunday more than Jets head coach Aaron Glenn. After a dismal 3-14 first season with the team, many fans questioned whether the former Pro Bowl cornerback was deserving of a second season with the team.

On Sunday, Glenn proved the decision to be right.

New York's game plan was perfect against the Titans. They controlled the line of scrimmage, they got the ball to their best players consistently, and they had Titans quarterback Cam Ward in hell for all four quarters.

Ever the humble man, though, Glenn kept things in perspective after the win.

"For us to go out and win this game with some of the issues that we had when it comes to penalties, some things that we could've done better at the end of half," Glenn said. "We'll clean those things up, I know we'll clean those things up, but it's good to get a win."

Glenn can be humble and focused. Those are important traits that he's shown. But it isn't exactly hyperbole to say this was a big win for his job security.

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