The New York Jets’ defense isn’t the franchise’s biggest problem. We’ve all seen the offense take that crown. But the lack of takeaways has become the most frustrating part of what should be a strength. Cornerback Brandon Stephens didn’t dance around it when he talked about the issue that has hovered over this group since Week 1.

“It sucks but we’re working towards it. Every guy on the defense is hungry to get one. It’s definitely not a good thing that we’re last in the league in turnovers, but we still got more ball to play,” Stephens said.

It’s actually worse than it sounds. Through 11 games, the Jets have just one takeaway: no interceptions, one forced fumble, one recovery. That’s it. According to the New York Post, no other team in football has fewer than nine takeaways, and every defense in the league has at least three picks. The Jets aren’t even close.

Interceptions aren’t the only measure of a defense, but it’s still jarring for a unit this talented to be sitting on zero. What makes it stranger is that they’ve been perfectly respectable against the pass. They’re 10th in passing yards allowed (193.7 per game), and while they’ve struggled more against the run (23rd, with 127.9 allowed per game), the secondary hasn’t exactly been a turnstile.

You just can’t help but wonder how different their season looks if they were able to tilt a game or two with a timely takeaway. But the NFL doesn’t grade on “almost.” The Jets are setting all the wrong kinds of records on both sides of the ball.

Linebacker Quincy Williams echoed Stephens’ frustration, and he didn’t sugarcoat the message for the defense.

“I’m always going to put it on the defense just because I’m a defensive captain. It’s going to be us getting the ball back to the offense, then closing out those games. So, I’m going to go turnovers because I’m a defensive player,” he said.

Both Williams and Stephens landed on something every Jets defender needs to hear. And while the players were putting themselves on notice, head coach Aaron Glenn had a message pointed in a different direction: to the fans.

Aaron Glenn’s message to the fans

The New York Jets sit at 2–9 heading into Week 13. If the season wrapped today, they’d be slotted at No. 3 in the draft, only behind the Giants at 2–10 and the Titans at 1–10. With the finish line in sight and the losses piling up, you can already hear some fans shifting the conversation toward draft positioning, hoping the team stays near the top of the board.

Basically, they want the team to lose so they can climb to the top of the draft board. Head coach Aaron Glenn wants no part of that line of thinking.

“You play the game to win. It’s not in a coach’s or player’s mentality to go out and lose games. We’re not built that way. Any time we step on the grass, we’re trying to improve,” the head coach said.

The Jets don’t need to chase losses to build draft capital; they have plenty. Thanks to the Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams trades, they’ll walk into the 2026 draft armed with two first-rounders and two seconds. The following year, they’ll have three first-round picks. They’ve got resources. They don’t need a tank to add more.

What they do need is to steady the ship and finish with something resembling momentum. That stuff carries, even into a long offseason. And with games still left against the Dolphins and the Saints, there are chances to stack a couple of wins and at least feel better about the direction of things. Rack up those wins and start next season on a high.