New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans Defensive Players to Watch

Here are the defensive players to watch for each team as the New York Jets prepare to face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) defends a pass to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

As the New York Jets prepare to face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville, both defenses are trying to put less than ideal performances behind them in their season openers.

When the Jets (0-1) take the field at 1 p.m. eastern on Sunday, they're hoping that they've done enough work to shore up their run defense, which was run over last week by the San Francisco 49ers.

But it wasn't All-Pro Christian McCaffrey that did the damage. It was an undrafted free agent running back named Jordan Mason who got the start after McCaffrey was scratched from the game.

While New York did not do a good job of flustering 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, their inability to stop the run stuck out in a 32-19 loss to San Francisco.

For the Titans, they are hoping to erase an awful end to their season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears. They led by 17 points going into the fourth quarter and had shut the Bears down, making life difficult on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

But, Chicago rallied to take the victory and left Tennessee's defense with a full week trying to figure out what went wrong.

Here are the defensive players to watch for both teams entering Monday’s game.

New York Jets

CB Sauce Gardner

Next offseason, when the former first-round pick is eligible for a contract extension, he's going to get paid by the Jets for many different reasons. Here are just two.

Per Pro Football Focus, Gardner faced 30 coverage snaps in the opener against the 49ers. He was targeted just one time and defended the pass.

The Jet Press combined what he allowed for his last nine games — six catches for 59 yards. He hasn’t allowed more than two catches in a game since Week 5 of the 2023 season and hasn’t allowed more than 34 yards in a game since last year’s season opener.

Edge Jermaine Johnson

The New York pass rush is getting a lot of criticism for their performance on Monday Night Football. Johnson was among them, and he told reporters earlier in the week that he actually apologized to his teammates for not doing more.

As for this week, he feels like he has a great scout on Titans quarterback Will Levis.

"He's a talented athlete and can throw the ball pretty well, but just watching film and just understanding some things about him, especially when he comes out, he's one of those guys that, when things aren't going his way, he kind of can panic a little early."

The Jets are hoping Johnson and the rest of the pass rush can instill some panic in the second-year quarterback.

CB D.J. Reed

Reed was the highest-rated defender last week against San Francisco, per PFF. His 72.7 rating was behind only offensive players Aaron Rodgers (86.2) and Allen Lazard (78.7).

The Jets have one of the best secondaries in the NFL and Reed is a big reason why the unit is able to defend the pass and create turnovers.

The concern this week is the sore knee that has limited him in practice, but coach Robert Saleh insists he will be able play. He is a player to monitor going into the weekend. Without him, New York will definitely be in a bind.

Tennessee Titans

LB Harold Landry III

Landry had six tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss in the season opener against Chicago. He's a long time Titan, as Tennessee selected him in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.

He now has 42.5 career sacks which puts him on the outskirts of the Top 10 in franchise history. Last year, he sacked the quarterback 10.5 times in a terrific bounce-back campaign after missing all of the 2022 season due to injury.

The former Boston College product is one of the Titans' best pass rushers and a player that must be accounted for on Sunday.

S Amani Hooker

Hooker also had six tackles in the opener. He also defended two passes and forced a fumble. Tennessee thought well enough of him to move up in the 2019 NFL draft to select him and slot him in at safety after a standout career at Iowa.

He has seven career interceptions in an NFL career that has also seen him post 245 tackles and defend 22 passes. Last season was a career best for him, as he finished with 80 tackles.

 LB Kenneth Murray Jr.

Murray had six tackles last week against the Bears. The Titans were looking for an upgrade at linebacker and they went out and got Murray in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

Originally selected in the first round in 2020 by the Los Angeles Chargers, the former Oklahoma standout was coming off a 107-tackle season to go along with a career high three sacks.

Murray is capable of filling several different roles in the defense, and they are sure to use him in that manner on Sunday.