Aaron Glenn is starting to feel his seat get warm after Jets' brutal loss to Bears

The New York Jets showed signs of promise over the first three weeks of the 2026 season, but Sunday was a reminder of why there's a dark cloud hovering over the franchise.

They lost 23-12 to the Chicago Bears on the road, and the game was less close than the score suggests. The Bears won the total yardage battle 492-157, the time-of-possession battle 42:45-17:15, and ran 89 plays against the Jets' 32. Chicago had two more first downs than New York had plays run.

The Jets won the turnover battle 2-0 and recorded their first interception since January 5, 2025, but that wasn't enough to make up for their putrid offense.

This wasn't the ideal way to follow up its 1-2 start, which was reflected in a postgame quote by head coach Aaron Glenn, via SNY.

"I'm very, very disappointed on a number of different levels," he admitted. "This was basically just not playing complimentary football at its best. The penalties, which negated a couple of turnovers that we had, were tough. That's tough to live with. For the defense to go out there for 90 plays ... I think our offense had 30 plays ... it's tough to get something going in that situation."

The excuses are running out for Aaron Glenn

Although New York went 3-14 in Glenn's first season at the helm last year, it was the first year of a rebuild, and the expectations were low.

Nobody expected the Jets to win the Super Bowl this season, but it's no longer okay to have non-competitive losses given the influx of talent. They drafted three players in the first round and added veterans like safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, quarterback Geno Smith, defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, and defensive end Joseph Ossai.

In that respect, New York made it through the first three weeks unscathed. It handled business in Week 1 with a 23-10 road win over the Tennessee Titans, who are now 0-4.

It then held a 10-point fourth-quarter lead at home against the Green Bay Packers the following week before losing 20-17 in overtime. Finally, it lost 31-24 to the Detroit Lions on the road in Week 3, when Smith lost a fumble on the potential game-tying drive to end it.

Nobody dreams of going 1-2, but playing three consecutive competitive games was progress for a Jets team that tied the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals for the NFL's worst record last season, especially considering that the Packers have made the playoffs in each of the last three years, and the Lions in each of the last two. However, Sunday's effort in Chicago looked like the 2025 squad.

Although Glenn's only in his second season, he can only be responsible for so many more ugly losses before his time in New York runs out. If the Jets don't beat the Cleveland Browns (3-1) next week, it'll be hard to justify keeping him.

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