Is the Jets’ schedule a cause for concern this season?
For the past month, New York Jets fans have been basking in the warm afterglow of signing Aaron Rodgers. Finally, the quarterback position is not an area of weakness for the Jets and this should be celebrated.
And Rodgers hasn’t just brought media circus with him, he’s also brought a couple of old friends to get excited about too. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb also packed their bags for New York, and they’ll add to the talent the Jets already have at the receiver position in Garrett Wilson.
The Jets have also strengthened the offensive line by bringing in another old colleague of Rodgers, Billy Turner, and drafting center Joe Tippmann out of Wisconsin in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The defensive unit is as solid as its ever been as well. Everything is falling into place nicely for a competitive Super Bowl run.
Challenging run of fixtures to come
The balloon of optimism has slightly deflated now that the NFL schedule has been released for the upcoming season. According to CBS Sports, the Jets have the 6th hardest schedule to contend with this season as their upcoming opponents had a combined winning percentage of .545 last season.
Those statistics don’t tell the full story though. Not only will the Jets have to knock off the division favourites the Buffalo Bills, but they will also have to welcome the current champions the Kansas City Chiefs and the runners up from last season the Philadelphia Eagles to MetLife Stadium. There are also some tricky road games to negotiate against the Dallas Cowboys, the Sean Payton led Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, where the Jets have not won since 2010.
Anyone who thought the Jets were almost guaranteed to be a playoff team this season is sorely mistaken. There are no guarantees with this schedule. Of course, there is world that Jets fans hope we are living in, where Rodgers is the same player who won the MVP award two years running, makes Garrett Wilson a younger and more talented version of Davante Adams and everything goes so well that the Jets are in cruise control by December.
However, there is also a world where this all goes very wrong very quickly and Rodgers can’t get into gear, the team stutters and his favourite target for the season becomes Denzel Mims. Regardless of which reality plays out, the Jets are going to have to navigate some choppy waters to make it to the post season and there are some games which could make or break their season.
Bills at home
Every team wants to start with a win. The Jets need to set the tone for their season against the Bills on Monday Night Football. Beating your division rivals and the division favourites on prime-time TV sends quite the message to any Jets doubters.
But this won’t be an easy task as the Bills have Super Bowl aspirations of their own. Rodgers will be desperate to get off to a good start and get the offense purring which could be a tall order with Von Miller disrupting the pocket and two ball hawking safeties preventing deep throws over the middle.
The Jets do not necessarily have to win this game, but they do need to show the world that they are a different proposition offensively compared with previous seasons.
Away at the Cowboys
Fresh off a Monday Night Football clash against the Bills, the Jets will have their first test on the road, taking on the Cowboys. Last season they could score quickly and they hurt teams in a variety of ways with a one-two punch of Tony Pollard and Zeke Elliot and Dak Prescott frequently connecting with CeeDee Lamb.
This season Kellen Moore won’t be calling the offensive plays so it will be interesting to see what that means for the Cowboys offense. Jerry’s House will be bouncing too so it will be a hostile environment for Rodgers and the Jets.
This game will be a big test of the Jets’ metal on the road and if they do have aspirations of playing play-off football and playing for a title then this is sort of game they will need to be winning.
Chiefs at home
This game should answer one question: how are the Jets’ defensive unit going to cope with multiple MVP winner and current Superbowl champion Patrick Mahomes? Mahomes has every throw in his arsenal, and he leads an explosive offense that can hurt every team they play against.
The road to the Super Bowl will also likely run through Kansas City so this will be a good dress rehearsal for a potential AFC championship game. The Jets must show something on the defensive side of the ball against probably the best quarterback in the league right now.
If they can’t stop Mahomes or even just slow him down, then they’ll be in trouble when play-off time rolls around.
Eagles at home
The tough games will be coming thick and fast for the Jets in the early part of the season. The Eagles are expected to be just as much of a juggernaut as they were last season so this will not be an easy task, even at home. Rodgers could be using his legs to avoid Eagles pass rushers for a lot of this game, and at 40 years of age, that is far from ideal.
How will Rodgers adapt to connect with his receivers? The AFC team in the Super Bowl could and probably will meet the Eagles in Vegas so this game is an early litmus test to see how the Jets compare to one of the dominant teams in the league.
Chargers at home
The Los Angeles Chargers are another offense that can score quickly and can run any team off the field before they know what has hit them. Last season, Justin Herbert was not as impressive as his rookie season, but he was carrying a severe rib injury and still showing signs that he will be one of the best quarterbacks in the league sooner rather than later.
The aforementioned Kellen Moore is now calling the offensive plays for the Chargers which could spell trouble for the rest of the league as it could mean we see Herbert ripping the ball all over the field like we did in his rookie season.
This will be another defensive test for the Jets but at the same time they will be expected to be a danger on offense themselves. It’s another game that you have to win at home.
Away at the Bills
Taking on the Bills in the winter months will be tough for any team. It’s a real advantage that they have over the majority of teams in the league. Not many quarterbacks want to go to Buffalo in the winter and play in a blizzard. Luckily for the Jets, they have a quarterback who has a great deal of experience with playing in the frozen tundra.
This game will be circled on the calendars of both teams, and it will likely decide the division winners. Another big test for the Jets defense, and one that they will likely need to pass at this stage of the season to make their Super Bowl path as clear as possible.
Concern? No. Excitement? Yes!
The optimism may be disappearing after the schedule release, but that shouldn’t change the way the Jets fans feel about their football team for this upcoming season. The Jets have done good business in this off-season.
Rodgers has the pieces around him to blow teams away and the defensive unit is a Championship calibre one which can rise to the many tests they have in front of them.
They’re as complete a team as they have been in many years and one of the most complete teams in the league this coming season. It’s easy to say that before any football has been played, but these tough games on the schedule should not be feared by this team they should be embraced by this team.
