Kenyon Sadiq and Breece Hall ran for touchdowns, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards and the visiting New York Jets put the clamps on the Tennessee Titans to start the season with a 23-10 win on Sunday afternoon.
Smith was 19 of 24 in winning his first start for the Jets (1-0) since 2016. Hall added 102 yards on 22 rushes as the Jets outgained Tennessee 367-195 and hogged the ball for 38 minutes and 46 seconds.
Cam Ward struggled most of the game for the Titans (0-1), hitting 19 of 32 passes for only 140 yards and a late touchdown. Ward played under constant pressure as New York recorded three sacks and forced him into inaccurate throws.
The outcome spoiled the first game for Robert Saleh as Tennessee’s coach. The ex-Jets boss and his coaching staff got a glimpse of how much ground the team has to cover to be competitive in the AFC South, let alone against the league’s top teams.
The Jets wasted little time putting their stamp on the game, taking the opening kickoff and marching 60 yards in eight plays. Sadiq covered the last 3 yards on a tight end reverse, rumbling inside the left front pylon of the end zone at the 10:45 mark.
Joey Slye connected on a 42-yard field goal with 5:03 left in the first quarter for the Titans. But Tennessee wouldn’t score again until Ward found Elic Ayomanor for an 11-yard touchdown strike with 2:42 remaining in the game.
Jason Sanders drilled a 33-yard field goal with 5:03 remaining in the second quarter to make it 10-3 New York. It capped a 19-play drive, 15 of them runs, that lasted a whopping 11:48.
Hall upped the advantage to 17-3 with 9:41 left in the third quarter on a 4-yard run that finished an 80-yard drive. Smith fueled it with completions of 31 and 40 yards to Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, respectively.
Sanders added a 51-yard field goal with 4:33 remaining in the period and a 52-yarder with five minutes left in the game
