Aaron Glenn’s defensive superpower might be creating a new Jets problem

When Aaron Glenn announced he would be taking over defensive play-calling duties for the New York Jets in 2026, he called it his superpower. So far, through two games, it pretty much has been. That was especially true against the Green Bay Packers this past Sunday.

After a dream start against the Tennessee Titans, Glenn put together a mostly impressive encore against the Packers. The Jets defense held Green Bay to just 199 total yards. The Packers went just 1-for-nine on third down. New York forced five fumbles, and though only one was recovered, Gang Green won the turnover battle.

The Jets were primed to win the game, entering the fourth quarter up 17-10 with a chance to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2015.

The offense had been mostly good, if not up to the same level that it was in Week 1. Geno Smith had given the team a level of play at the quarterback position that has rarely been seen around these parts. Demario Davis and the rest of the veterans have the youngsters falling in line with the sort of sage wisdom and leadership a young club needs.

It didn't matter. It would all unravel as New York fell to Green Bay by a score of 20-17. There were certainly opportunities earlier in the game to prevent this situation from ever happening, but the man at the center of the loss was Glenn. Not because his defensive playcalling fell off in crunch time, but because his gross game mismanagement caused the wheels to fall off at the end.

Aaron Glenn needs to prove to the New York Jets that he's more than just a great defensive coordinator

There were several moments throughout the fourth quarter and overtime that left us scratching our heads. We won't go through them all, but there are a handful of questionable moments that had the biggest impact on the final outcome.

First, there was the Jets' decision to go for it on fourth down with the game tied at 17 from the 50-yard line, with 1:20 left to play in the fourth quarter. The play call, running out of shotgun with Braelon Allen, isn't on Glenn. That was a poor decision by offensive coordinator Frank Reich, but the decision not to punt was Glenn's.

What happened next compounded the matter, as after getting three quick stops, Glenn refused to call a timeout to force the Packers to punt and give New York's offense another chance to march down the field with roughly 50 seconds remaining. When you hear Glenn explain the logic behind these two intertwined decisions, it will leave you more confused than you were originally.

"When we have the punter at the logo, we don't want to put ourselves in a situation where we get our guys in a backed-up situation," Glenn said. "I know that we're talking about getting our offense going in that situation, but the thing is that they had two timeouts, also, and if you put yourself in a backed-up situation and things don't go as planned, I think you're giving the other team an opportunity to be able to go down there and be able to make a play."

The thought process doesn't make much sense. For one, why not punt on fourth down and pin them deep? Your defense has been playing well, and with a quick three-and-out, you could get the ball back with excellent field position and an opportunity to win during regulation.

If you feared them pinning you deep and potentially giving Green Bay the ball back with good field position and a chance to win, why not put them in the same scenario where they have to make a difficult choice, just like you did?

The next most egregious issue was deciding to receive the ball to begin overtime. In doing so, Glenn put more pressure than necessary on his team. The advantage of being able to choose is that if the receiving team doesn't score on its first possession, you have a chance to win the game with only a field goal on your first drive of the extra period. That's exactly what the Packers did.

Glenn's late-game management isn't the only reason why the Jets lost, but he did take a winnable game and put his team in multiple disadvantageous positions. New York has long had brilliant defensive minds running the show, like Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles, but has seen those coaches struggle to properly manage games.

It's too early to write Glenn off yet, though the defense of his decisions is concerning. If he doesn't shape up soon, he'll prove himself to be yet another being yet another fine coordinator who has no business being a head coach.

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