Jets fans have had almost nothing to celebrate on defense for a full year, and it's not hyperbole. New York went the entire 2025 regular season without recording a single interception — a first in NFL history since tracking began back in 1933. So when Andre Cisco jumped a Will Howard pass intended for the end zone during Thursday night's preseason game against the Steelers, it wasn't just a turnover. It was the first Jets interception in 364 days.
Cisco hauls in the pick and takes off downfield with Jets already up 7-0 in the 2nd quarter.
The reaction online said it all. One fan posted the clip of Cisco's return with the caption "Forgot what this looked like" — and given the Jets' 2025 stat line, that's not a joke, it's basically documented fact. A defensive back in green and white actually taking the ball away and running with it is the kind of thing this fanbase hasn't seen in a game that counted since a Malachi Moore pick against the Eagles back on August 22, 2025.
Howard didn't get much time to feel bad about it, either. The Jets kept the pressure on and Samuel Womack picked him off again later in the same quarter, meaning Pittsburgh's rookie-led offense turned it over twice before halftime. New York built its lead off the turnovers and never let go, eventually closing it out as a 17-0 shutout, with Geno Smith going a perfect 7-of-7 for 65 yards and a touchdown to Jelani Woods on the opening drive.
The Jets defense returns another Howard interception with the scoreboard showing Jets 7, Steelers 0 late in the second quarter.
The jokes at Howard's expense followed immediately, with one post cracking that he "should see if he could go back to college." It's a preseason ribbing more than a real read on his future — Howard is still getting his feet wet at the NFL level after a college career at Kansas State — but two picks in a half against a Jets defense that couldn't buy a turnover a year ago is a rough look regardless of the stakes.
None of this changes anything in the standings — it's preseason, and these games exist for roster evaluation, not narratives. But for a Jets defense trying to erase the memory of an entire winless-on-turnovers season, watching Cisco and Womack both come up with picks in the same half is exactly the kind of small sign fans were begging to see. It won't mean much if it doesn't carry into the regular season, but for one night in August, the Jets looked like a team capable of taking the ball away again.