Jets at Titans: 5 things to watch for during Week 1 game

The wait is finally over, but the most interesting thing about the New York Jets entering Week 1 has very little to do with their record.

Everybody knows they're opening the season Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Everybody knows Geno Smith is back. Everybody knows Robert Saleh is standing on the opposite sideline.

What's still unknown is whether the vision head coach Aaron Glenn sold throughout the offseason will actually show up when the games start to count.

After a 3-14 season, the Jets spent months reshaping their roster, adding veterans, developing young talent, and placing significant trust in a new coaching structure. Sunday's opener will provide the first real glimpse of whether that foundation is strong enough to accelerate the franchise's timeline.

With that, here are Jets Wire's five things to watch for during the Jets' Week 1 game against the Titans :

No matter how much either side downplays it, this matchup comes with an unavoidable subplot . Saleh spent four seasons as the Jets' head coach before being dismissed during the 2024 season. After another stint as the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator last season, he landed another head coaching opportunity in Tennessee.

As fate would have it, his first regular-season game with the Titans comes against the organization that gave him his first chance to lead a team.

For Saleh, this game won't define his tenure in Tennessee.

For the Jets, it won't define Glenn's future. But both sides understand the optics.

Considering how familiar the Jets would be with Saleh, does that give Gang Green any sort of advantage when facing his defense?

Perhaps the most important development Sunday won't be who is playing but who is calling the plays. Glenn has taken on a larger role with the defense, trusting what he has described as one of his strengths as a coach .

On the other side of the ball, veteran offensive coordinator Frank Reich will unveil a regular-season game plan after a preseason that revealed very little about what the Jets truly want to be offensively. The Jets have invested heavily in young talent and veteran leadership on both sides of the ball.

Now the spotlight shifts to the coaches. Scheme, adjustments, and situational decision-making often determine close games in September, and Sunday's opener should provide the first clues about how this coaching staff plans to maximize the roster it has assembled.

Can the new additions make an immediate impact?

The Jets didn't spend the offseason standing still. Veterans were added to address weaknesses, rookies were drafted with the expectation of contributing quickly and several new starters are expected to play significant roles from Day 1.

Sunday's game will be the first meaningful test of whether those moves actually improved the roster.

That includes first-round rookies Kenyon Sadiq, Omar Cooper Jr. and David Bailey, along with veteran additions expected to help stabilize areas that struggled a season ago.

Week 1 rarely tells the whole story, but it often reveals which newcomers are ready to contribute immediately and which ones still need time to develop.

What should we realistically expect from Geno Smith's return?

No one will ever forget seeing Geno Smith proclaim, "he was written off, but refused to write back." Well, following a rough one-and-done campaign with the Las Vegas Raiders , he's been written off again.

Let's hope he doesn't write back this time either. The feel-good storyline writes itself. More than a decade after the Jets drafted him in the second round, Smith is back in green and white with another opportunity to lead the franchise.

The Jets don't need Smith to carry the offense by himself. They need him to be efficient, protect the football and consistently get the ball to Garrett Wilson , Breece Hall and the rest of the team's playmakers. If he can do that, the offense has a chance to be significantly more functional than it was a year ago.

More than any statistical benchmark, Week 1 will be about command. Does Smith look comfortable? Does he look decisive? Does he look like a quarterback capable of helping the Jets win games rather than simply avoiding mistakes?

Can the Jets begin the season with a road win and a 1-0 start?

Every season opener carries added significance because nobody truly knows what a team is until the games begin. The Titans are rebuilding under Saleh, while the Jets are attempting to prove that last season's record is not an accurate reflection of their long-term trajectory. Both franchises enter the afternoon desperate to establish momentum.

For New York specifically, this feels like the kind of game a team with legitimate aspirations should win. Road games are never easy in the NFL, but the Jets have spent the offseason talking about growth, accountability, and progress. Sunday offers the first opportunity to show that those changes are more than offseason talking points.

By the time the Jets leave Nashville, the biggest takeaway may have nothing to do with Saleh's return or Smith's homecoming. The real story could be whether New York looks like a team beginning to turn the corner — or one that still has a longer climb ahead than anyone hoped.