NASHVILLE, TN — Any win in the NFL is hard. But for the first time in years, the Jets made it look easy on Sunday.

New York dominated the lowly Titans and former head coach Robert Saleh to the tune of a 23-10 score that appeared closer than the game ended up being. The Jets dominated in almost every facet and walked away 1-0 for the first time since 2023.

As with any game, there were plenty of standouts. There were also some unsung heroes who were key cogs in the Jets' win on Sunday.

Let's go through the three biggest now.

1. Jets' interior line

Jeffery Simmons is one of the best defensive tackles in the game. He is coming off an All-Pro season in which he recorded 11 sacks.

His stats on Sunday: four tackles and three quarterback pressures without a sack or QB hit, according to Pro Football Focus.

Simmons was still an anchor in the run game at times, but it was obvious that the collection of Joe Tippmann, Josh Myers and Dylan Parham all had excellent games against the Titans' defense. It allowed Breece Hall to run for over 100 yards and kept Geno Smith upright for the majority of the game.

"I think we came out as an O-line, and we were physical; we were dominant," Tippmann said after the game. "There are plays we wish we had back, but I think we had a lot of statement runs and that statement drive to start the game."

They were not perfect, of course. Myers botched a snap early in the contest. But as a collective unit, the Jets keeping Simmons off the stat sheet in any significant way was a major win going forward.

2. Azareye'h Thomas, CB

New York's secondary took multiple hits in Sunday's game. Starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left early in the contest with a groin injury. Slot cornerback Jarvis Brownlee also sustained an injury but later returned to the game.

The shuffling around didn't matter. The Jets dominated the Titans' passing attack thanks to corners that locked the field down on the outside. Second-year cornerback Azareye'h Thomas was easily the best of the group, though.

Thomas finished with a Pro Football Focus grade with an 80.3 - an elite overall marker for such a young player. On the day, he had five tackles including an important tackle for loss that pushed the Titans out of touchdown range. He was also lockdown in coverage. On one particular throw, he forced a receiver out of bounds without committing a penalty, but just with good footwork. It was the kind of play that showed both his physical nature and improving speed.

Of note, Thomas's counterpart on the other side, Brandon Stephens, also had a good game. But for a defense that is predicated on tackling and being physical, Thomas was the one who embodied that better than anyone.

3. T'Vondre Sweat, DT

If the Titans want to succeed this season, they will need to do so by running the football. On Sunday, the numbers they posted on the ground were nothing more than misleading.

Tennessee ran the ball 14 times for 68 yards. That's almost five yards per carry. But the Titans couldn't run the ball up the middle all game and abandoned that plan shortly after due to the efforts of Jets nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat.

Sweat recorded just one tackle and a pressure, but his impact as a 360-plus-pound defensive tackle made it very difficult for the Titans to set any sort of anchor along the interior of their line. It meant plenty for the former second-round pick as well. After the game, Sweat was seen grinning from ear to ear and shouting about getting the victory back in Tennessee.

The numbers don't tell the whole story, but Sweat was just what the Jets needed along the interior against the run.

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