August 10, 2024

On a bright Saturday afternoon at Metlife Stadium, Jets football was back for the 2024 season, hosting the Washington Commanders in the first week of the preseason.

The game started great for the Commanders after they scored a touchdown on their first drive, the touchdown was set up by a huge 42 yard reception from Dyami Brown to put Washington at the Jets 24 yard line. From then on the Commanders kept driving down the field and finished with a Jayden Daniels 3 yard rushing touchdown. Both teams from there on failed to score and the Jets had 2 3 and outs in the 1st quarter.

In the second quarter, the Jets scored on their first drive, and rookie Braelon Allen was at the forefront of the drive, starting with a 16 yard rush, then 5 yard rush, and finally a 24 yard rush to put the Jets at the Washington 35 yard line. From there on Andrew Peasley hit Isiah Davis on a 24 yard pass, and finally Peasley connected with Jason Brownlee to put the Jets on the board for the first time with a great throw on the right hand side of the endzone. The very next drive the Commanders had a 13 play, 45 yard long drive that chewed up over 5 minutes of the clock but all led to a 39 yard missed field goal. When the Jets got the ball back they had their 3rd 3 and out of the game and punted to the Commanders 34 yard line. The next drive started with Commanders QB Jeff Driskel throwing a 44 yard bomb to tight end Ben Sinnott to move up to the Jets 24 yard line. However, the Commanders failed to capitalize on the field position and were forced to kick the field goal, which put the Commanders up 10-7. The very next drive the Jets got the ball with 1:13 and worked down the field with a 9 play drive to put Greg Zuerlein in range to kick a 56 yard field goal, and he drained that kick to tie the game 10-10 at halftime.

The second half started very slow for both of the team's defenses, with 5 straight punts between New York and Washington. On the 6th drive of the half, the QB Sam Hartman and the Commanders went all the way and scored with a Michael Wiley rushing touchdown to put the Commanders up 17-10. Gang Green then responded that touchdown with a touchdown for themselves with a 75 yard, 13 play long drive. The main play that put the Jets right at the goal line was an Adrian Martinez 37 yard pass to Brandon Smith that set up for a 2 yard touchdown rush for Israel Abanikanda. When the Commanders got the ball the Jet's defense was lock down, the drive featured a Leonard Taylor III sack and multiple penalties on Washington that all forced the Commanders to punt and give the Jets the ball back. As the game was tied the Jets drained the clock on a 3:39 minute drive to bring it down to 21 seconds left on their final drive, and Jets kicker Austin Seibert hit the game-winning field goal to bring home the 20-17 W for the Jets.

This game showcased many young stars and the potential roles they could have with the team this fall, most notably the 2 rookie running backs, Isaiah Davis and Braelon Allen. Braelon Allen had 6 rushes for 54 yards and 9.0 YPC, and Isiah Davis was utilized heavily in the passing game with 4 receptions for 33 yards. 

Coach Saleh said after the game “We love that running back room, it came a long way since the first year we were here and we feel like we have some legitimate runners across the board” on his stance on the RB group for the Jets.

Now with the Jets grabbing their first preseason win vs the Commanders, they will head down to Carolina where they will have a joint practice and a game next weekend.