Jets units domination shows the key to unlocking offensive promise

Geno Smith ended his first game back with the Jets in a clean jersey. “I don’t think I got touched at all,” Smith said.“That’s always a great sign.” He can thank the big guys up front.  Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.

The Jets offensive line dominated in the 23-10 season-opening win over the Titans on Sunday in Tennessee.For what is largely considered the team’s biggest strength, it was an extremely promising sign going forward. “Tough, violent, gritty, just ‘you’re not going to stop what we’re trying to do’ [with our] mentality,” coach Aaron Glenn said.

“And when you have an O-line of that magnitude that thinks that way, it’s hard [for the opponent].It allows you to apply pressure to a team, so give those guys all the credit, man.

The big guys really don’t get as much credit as they need to.” The Titans are supposed to have a strong defensive line, with star Jeffery Simmons and ex-Jets Jermaine Johnson II and John Franklin-Myers.But the Jets overwhelmingly imposed themselves — “we dominated physically” is how Smith put it. The stats were impressive. Smith had an average time to throw of 3.04 seconds, per Next Gen Stats — eighth highest among all quarterbacks in Week 1.

He consistently had clean pockets to operate in, which allowed him to complete 19 of his 24 passes. He was not sacked, and the Titans managed just one measly QB hit. “Outstanding,” Smith said of the unit.“I thought the guys did a tremendous job of giving me lanes to throw through.

… I thought we ran the ball well, which slowed them down.Then when we needed to pass the ball, I thought the protection was outstanding.” On the ground, there was plenty of space for Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.

They averaged 4.6 and 4.0 yards per carry, respectively, and gave the Jets a significant time-of-possession advantage — 38:46 to 21:14 — with a run-first ...