The New York Jets’ 2021 season opponents have mostly been set with a southern vibe ready to highlight the future schedule.
The New York Jets‘ 2021 season opponents have mostly been set. We know 16 of the possible 17 opponents with home and road statuses for each, courtesy of the 2020 final standings.
The AFC East will square off against the AFC South and NFC South. In addition, the Jets will match-up against the fourth-place teams from the AFC North and AFC West.
Home opponents:
- Buffalo Bills (13-3)
- Miami Dolphins (10-6)
- New England Patriots (7-9)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-15)
- Tennessee Titans (11-5)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1)
- New Orleans Saints (12-4)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)
Away opponents:
- Buffalo Bills (13-3)
- Miami Dolphins (10-6)
- New England Patriots (7-9)
- Houston Texans (4-12)
- Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
- Denver Broncos (5-11)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-12)
- Carolina Panthers (5-11)
Each of the three AFC East teams will face the same 14-game schedule other than two games, as per usual. For the Jets, it’ll be the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately for the 2020 squad, the Jets’ strength of schedule was the toughest in the NFL. The .594 winning percentage on the 16-game slate was a point of contention when comparing against the Jacksonville Jaguars all season long—as it dealt with the strength of schedule tiebreaker.
The Jets’ 2021 strength of schedule clocks in at .502, but that’s as of right now. The wild-card involved here is the possible 17th game.
The NFL can add a 17th game to the schedule as early as 2021. Where that extra game comes from remains to be seen. Some have suggested each division would be matched up with its geographical counterpart in the other conference to kick things off.
In that scenario, the Jets would be matched with the NFC East’s fourth-place team from 2020, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The eight-division structure makes for some interesting results. In fact, other than the hard salary cap, it’s the NFL’s best parity weapon. It’s not hard to understand why the AFC North has three teams in the playoffs this season; the AFC North played the hapless NFC East this season.
