THE APEX TIMES
After two close home defeats, New York’s offense is producing explosiveness and moving the ball at a franchise-best clip, but head coach Aaron Glenn says the next step is converting red-zone trips into touchdowns as the Jets travel to Kansas City.
The central question for the New York Jets this week is whether their offense can turn successful drives into touchdowns, not just yards, when they face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
In comments shared by the team after a 38-33 home loss to Las Vegas on Nov. 1 at MetLife Stadium, head coach Aaron Glenn said his offense moved well and created explosive plays, while also emphasizing that “plays” were left on the field. Glenn’s explanation was paired with a specific red-zone concern: only 2 touchdowns came on 6 red-zone drives, a shortfall the Jets planned to stress in practice before traveling to Kansas City.
A recent snapshot shows why the coaching staff can feel encouraged by the direction of the unit. In their last two home games, the Jets averaged 7.11 yards per offensive play against Miami and 7.20 against the Raiders, for 7.16 yards per play combined. The team said that rate is the seventh-best in franchise history for a two-game stretch and the best since the 2003 season, when the Jets posted the best back-to-back averages since Game 9-10 at Oakland and at Indianapolis.
The Jets’ passing production has also included repeatable big-play connections. The team highlighted a two-receiver eruption between Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell that produced 13 catches and 225 yards. It also noted a 31-yard first-play completion from Geno Smith to Wilson, plus Mitchell catches of 20 yards in the first half and 47 yards that helped set up another red-zone opportunity late in the drive.
On the ground, the Jets used Braelon Allen as a central component in the weeks since Breece Hall’s absence. The team reported Allen had five additional rushes of 10-plus yards against Las Vegas, including a 21-yard touchdown run, and that he has had 18 carries of 10-plus yards over the past four games. Allen’s workload has been steady enough that the team said he has 19 double-digit carries across his five-game stretch replacing Hall.
The Jets’ offensive momentum will be tested by Kansas City’s overall profile. According to the team, the Chiefs rank third in the NFL in yards per offensive play (6.30) and ninth in defense (5.04) through Sunday’s completed games, making touchdown conversion the clearest operational challenge Glenn is pointing to before kickoff.