Aaron Glenn narrowed a frustrating afternoon in Foxborough down to two failings. After the New York Jets lost 26-19 to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, October 18, the head coach said the result turned on “our ability to finish” on offense and on the details of how his defense played.
The defeat dropped the Jets to 2-4 and was their third loss of the season by one score. Glenn added that his team had handed New England two touchdowns that should never have been scored, and he took a share of the blame himself, saying he has to prepare the defense better and make sure the offense knows exactly what it takes to close out drives.
Coach Glenn on today's game pic.twitter.com/sDgq2GLpPY
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 18, 2026
Where the drives died
The numbers behind his complaint were stark. New York reached the red zone three times and came away without a touchdown on any of them. It converted only three of 10 third downs, and twice it went for it on fourth down in New England territory, on fourth-and-2 and on fourth-and-1, and was stopped both times, with a field goal available on each occasion.
That left kicker Jason Sanders to carry the scoring. He went 4 for 4 on field goals, from 42, 36, 40 and 36 yards, and the only Jets touchdown came on a single big play: Geno Smith’s 48-yard throw to rookie Omar Cooper Jr. early in the third quarter, which pulled New York within 17-10 after a 17-3 halftime deficit.
The Jets also took the ball away twice and turned neither takeaway into a touchdown. Smith finished 20 of 30 for 252 yards with the touchdown and one interception, a pick near midfield on the opening snaps of the final period with New York down 10. He was sacked three times. Cooper caught six passes for 103 yards, Garrett Wilson four for 44, and Braelon Allen ran 17 times for 78 yards.
Effort, but no comfort
Glenn did not pretend the record was acceptable. “I don’t think anybody feels good about being 2-4, but I do feel good about the effort that we played with,” he said. He told reporters the roster has playmakers and that the fix is repetition in practice until the finishing plays become automatic, calling it a mental challenge as much as a physical one.
His players sounded the same note. Smith said the team fought back after the break and gave itself a chance, but would not count that as a moral victory. Linebacker Demario Davis said the group is moving closer to the standard it has set without having reached it.
The coach also pointed out that the schedule offers no easy weeks, insisting any team in the league can beat any other, and said he wanted his players back on the practice field quickly.
What comes next
The Jets return to MetLife Stadium to host the winless Miami Dolphins, fresh off their bye, at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 25. Preview and live updates: Dolphins at Jets Game Center.
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