Intercepted? Jets notch first INT in 364 days during preseason game vs. Steelers

What a difference a year makes. Well, almost a year.

For the first time in 364 days, the New York Jets have intercepted a pass. No, not throw an interception. That was something they did 13 times during the regular season and 2026 starting quarterback, Geno Smith, did 17 times alone while with the Las Vegas Raiders. This was different.

A Jets defender ended the interception drought – albeit unofficially – in Week 2 of the 2026 NFL preseason.

Don’t believe us? Take a look with your own eyes:

From just inside the 15-yard line, Will Howard dropped back to pass early in the second quarter. Rather than find his receiver, he found Andre Cisco, the Jets safety.

It marked the team’s first interception in a game of any kind since Aug. 22, 2025, against the Philadelphia Eagles. That came in the first quarter when the Eagles’ Kyle McCord was picked off by Malachi Moore.

Turns out, the turnovers come in bunches: Samuel Womack picked off Howard for a second time in the second quarter.

The Jets famously became the only team in NFL history, since the league started tracking interceptions in 1933, to go through a full season without recording one.

They’ll need to find one in the regular season to avoid a repeat of 2025, but the team can at least celebrate being on the right side of that turnover for the first time in a long time.

When it comes to fan avidity, Bills Mafia reigns supreme. On the other hand, fans of the New York Jets and New York Giants have some work to do. According to the inaugural “Nielsen Scarborough NFL Fandom Index” from media audience research firm Nielsen, the Buffalo Bills have the best fandom in the league. Bills fans scored 208 on the new index, which takes into account eight key metrics, Nielsen announced in a press release. The key metrics, all from Nielsen’s own data are apparel purchases, event attendance, streaming, social media following, TV viewership, radio listening, betting intent, and overall interest level. The firm noted that fanbases in Philadelphia and Cincinnati both ranked in the top five across several categories, which pushed Eagles and Bengals fans near the top of the index despite “neither lead[ing] a single metric outright.”
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When it comes to fan avidity, Bills Mafia reigns supreme. On the other hand, fans of the New York Jets and New York Giants have some work to do. According to the inaugural “Nielsen Scarborough NFL Fandom Index” from media audience research firm Nielsen, the Buffalo Bills have the best fandom in the league. Bills fans scored 208 on the new index, which takes into account eight key metrics, Nielsen announced in a press release. The key metrics, all from Nielsen’s own data are apparel purchases, event attendance, streaming, social media following, TV viewership, radio listening, betting intent, and overall interest level. The firm noted that fanbases in Philadelphia and Cincinnati both ranked in the top five across several categories, which pushed Eagles and Bengals fans near the top of the index despite “neither lead[ing] a single metric outright.”
New York 30

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