Geno Smith gives Jets fans a taste of what's to come in preseason debut

Fans got their first (second?) look at Geno Smith in a New York Jets jersey on Friday night, when the veteran quarterback made his preseason debut in New York's Week 2 preseason matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Smith's debut was virtually perfect. On the opening possession of the game, the 35-year-old led the Jets on a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive capped off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jelani Woods. It would be his only opportunity of the night.

The veteran quarterback completed seven passes to six different receivers, including left guard Dylan Parham on a batted ball, moved the chains three times, and provided endless excitement for fans pining for offensive success in 2026.

Is this what the Jets should be ready for once the regular season rolls around? Are they finally going to get competent play from the quarterback position?

New York Jets fans should be excited about Geno Smith's play

After Smith's preseason outing, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn spoke with reporters and shared how he felt his quarterback performed in his preseason debut.

"Very, very efficient. I think he had two third-down completions, within that, threw to five different receivers within that drive. Looked very comfortable, did exactly what we were looking for. But again, we still have some things we've got to work on because our run game wasn't where it needs to be. So we're going to take a good hard look at that and make sure we clean that up."

Clearly, Glenn isn't counting Smith's completion to Parham, but besides that, it was about as good a review as he could give his quarterback. As the coach noted, though, there's still room for improvement from the Jets offense as a whole.

This is likely the last we'll see of Smith in the preseason, though. As Glenn said himself, Smith did exactly what the coaching staff was looking for, and they'll likely leave the reps in the Jets' third and final preseason game to the young quarterbacks.

It's for the best. There's no reason for New York to risk injuring their starting quarterback, and it's safe to say he has shaken off any of the negative feelings fans have had for him after some up-and-down practices over the last few weeks.

Take a breath, Jets fans. There are several reasons to be excited about the upcoming 2026 season, and their veteran quarterback may be one of them.

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