The New York Jets kicked off their season on Sunday as they took on their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was a brand-new look for the Jets, starting at the very top. To say that this affected their on-field play from last year would be a massive understatement. With Justin Fields under center, this was a brand-new team that was honestly pretty fun to watch, especially on offense.
Unfortunately for the Jets, while they played an outstanding game on the offensive side of things, the defense couldn’t get it done. Rodgers and the Steelers torched the Jets, throwing four touchdowns in the process, as the Jets ultimately fell to Pittsburgh, 34-32. So, who are the three players to blame for the Jets’ Week 1 loss to the Steelers?
3. Tony Adams, S
Kicking off the list of three players to blame for the Jets’ loss, we saw a game Tony Adams would like to forget. The 26-year-old safety is entering his fourth season. While Adams was once a solid player for the Jets on defense, most notably in his big 2023 season, when he picked up three interceptions and five passes defended, he has not been the same player since.
Adams had a poor game, missing several tackles, which proved costly. At times, Adams just looked lost on the field, often getting tormented by DK Metcalf. Fortunately for Adams, he wasn’t alone, as Andre Cisco didn’t look much better. However, between the two, Adams looked worse. Adams was off-assignment in many plays and blew some important coverage plays.
Hopefully for Adams, he can turn it up a notch as the season goes on. Is Adams a bad player? Not necessarily. However, this game was a bad showing for him. The defense is going to be a point of conversation for the remainder of the year, and new head coach Aaron Glenn has a lot of work to do. However, Adams isn’t the only player from the Jets defense to make this list. We’ll get to that more in a little bit.
2. Xavier Gipson, WR/KR
Next up, we saw a game that Xavier Gipson would like to forget. While he didn’t contribute at all on offense, he certainly cost the Jets with a pivotal mistake late in the game as a kick returner. Gipson is now entering his third season with the team, and while he’s had a pretty quiet two years, the mistakes he made today could see him not even on the Jets anymore before the 2025 NFL season comes to an end.
As the Jets were holding on to a very thin 26-24 lead, they were receiving the ball to start the fourth quarter. Gipson, who ran the ball out for 19 yards, fumbled and gave Pittsburgh the ball in amazing field position. This led to Rodgers finding Calvin Austin for the touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh the lead, and their first since early in the second quarter. The Jets will have a lot of work to do on Gipson, should they hope to make him into a formidable kick returner. In all honesty, the Jets should have given the starting punt returner job to undrafted rookie Jamaal Pritchett, who outplayed Gipson the whole preseason.
Frankly, this was an issue the Jets should have looked at in the offseason. This was a very predictable outcome. Gipson led all returners in muffs and fumbles last season, proving to be the most mistake-prone returner in the entire NFL. Unfortunately for Glenn and the new staff, the Jets have nothing left to do this season but hope Gipson improves as a kick returner. If he doesn’t, come season’s end, we may be looking at a new receiver and returner.
1. Brandon Stephens, CB
Arguably, the player most to blame for this loss was the Jets’ new cornerback, Brandon Stephens. The Jets signed Stephens this past offseason to a three-year deal. Unfortunately for Glenn and the new staff, this signing already looks like a horrible idea. While Jets fans initially met the signing with some hesitation, Sunday’s game only proved their worries to be true.
Stephens, who played a majority of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, was going to be a project from the first time he was announced to be signing here. However, Glenn and his defensive mind felt like he could reach some untapped potential in Stephens that Stephens wasn’t able to find on the Ravens. Spoiler alert, this was certainly not the case. Stephens was burned for a touchdown and later flagged for a pass interference call that ultimately sealed the deal for Pittsburgh.
Stephens got tormented all game on Sunday by the Steelers’ offense. One of the catches Calvin Austin caught over Stephens saw Stephens not even turn his head to see where the ball was coming. Honestly, Stephens was most to blame for just about every touchdown pass the Jets gave up to Rodgers and his new crew. Hopefully, things will improve for Stephens, but if they don’t, this looks like a brutal three-year, $12 million deal.
