Both teams went 3-14 last year, but only one gets to open the season by beating up on the guy who fired their coach — well, the other way around.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 7, 1:14 PM CT
+132NYJTEN-150
+102NYJ +2.5TEN -2.5-115
-107Over 38.5Under 38.5-109
Best BetTitans -150
Tennessee's priced as a real favorite here, and the case is straightforward: better cap-fueled roster overhaul, a healthier situation at quarterback, and a coach with something to prove against his old employer. The Jets bring a new starter in Geno Smith who's dealing with real off-field noise heading into the opener, which is not how you want to build stability. Lay the price and back the Titans to win their coach's revenge game.
Jets
+Geno Smith brings real starting experience at QB
+Garrett Wilson, Mitchell building early chemistry per reports
−Lost final 5 games of 2025 by a mile
−Smith facing active battery investigation entering camp
Titans
+League-high cap space used to retool roster
+Beat playoff-caliber Chiefs 26-9 in December
−Cam Ward was a bottom-tier efficiency QB as a rookie
−Center, right guard spots still unsettled
This one has a real subplot: Robert Saleh, fired by the Jets in October 2024, is now the Titans' head coach, and Sunday's opener puts him on the opposite sideline from his old team. Tennessee didn't just hire Saleh — it brought along a string of ex-Jets, including Michael Carter, plus offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who cut his teeth coaching Jets quarterbacks back in 2007-08. Meanwhile the Jets counter with a new-old face of their own at quarterback: Geno Smith, reacquired in a March trade with the Raiders and installed as the Week 1 starter under first-year-turned-second-year coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn is walking into this game with real pressure attached. After an 0-7 start led to a 3-14 finish in his debut season, he restructured his staff, took over play-calling on defense himself, and handed the offense to new coordinator Frank Reich. A loss to the coach he essentially replaced would be a brutal way to kick off a make-or-break year. Smith brings starting experience the Jets didn't have at the position for stretches of 2025, and early reports have him building chemistry with Garrett Wilson and rookie addition Adonai Mitchell at OTAs — but Smith is also dealing with an active police investigation into a battery accusation from a woman identifying herself as his ex-girlfriend, a story that's still unfolding as camp approaches.
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NYJ Jets
TEN Titans
Tennessee spent its offseason trying to build a runway for Cam Ward after a rookie season that saw him rank at the bottom of the league in efficiency behind a shaky interior line and a coaching staff that got fired midyear. The Titans used their league-high cap space to retool around him, and Daboll taking over play-calling is supposed to be the difference-maker. Center and right guard are still question marks up front, which matters against a Jets front trying to find its own footing under Glenn.
New York Jets
Tennessee Titans
Recent form.
Neither team enters with momentum — both closed 2025 on ugly notes, with the Jets dropping their final five and the Titans splitting their last five before a 41-7 no-show in Jacksonville. But Tennessee at least flashed something last December, knocking off a playoff-caliber Chiefs team 26-9 at home. That's the kind of result the Jets simply didn't have anywhere on their 2025 ledger.
New York Jets
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Tennessee Titans
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Both rosters are still shaking out training-camp battles more than settling into known quantities — Tennessee's staff overhaul under Saleh and the Jets' offensive rebuild under Reich mean plenty of the names above could look different by kickoff. What's not in question is the stakes for the two coaches involved: Saleh gets to make a statement in his return, and Glenn needs his team to actually show up for one, on Sunday at 12:00 PM CT.
