The New York Jets’ official 2024 schedule has been reported by the New York Post, and we’ve got plenty of takeaways. Let’s dive straight into it.
- Week 1: Monday, Sept. 9 at 49ers (Monday Night Football)
- Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 15 at Titans
- Week 3: Thursday, Sept. 19 vs. Patriots (Thursday Night Football)
- Week 4: Sunday, Sept. 29 vs. Broncos
- Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 6 at Vikings (London)
- Week 6: Monday, Oct. 14 vs. Bills (Monday Night Football
- Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 20 at Steelers (Sunday Night Football)
- Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 27 at Patriots
- Week 9: Thursday, Oct. 31 vs. Texans (Thursday Night Football)
- Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 10 at Cardinals
- Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 17 vs. Colts (Sunday Night Football)
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Seahawks
- Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 8 at Dolphins
- Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 15 at Jaguars
- Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 22 vs. Rams
- Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 29 at Bills
- Week 18: Saturday, Jan. 4 or Sunday, Jan. 5 vs. Dolphins
Get ready to see even more prime-time football than last year
After many years of being glued to the Sunday 1 p.m. window, Jets fans got used to seeing loads of prime-time football in 2023, as the arrival of Aaron Rodgers made the team a big-time draw for national audiences. The Jets played six nationally televised games last season. Rodgers missed most of those games, but that hasn’t changed how the league views New York’s prime-time attractiveness going into 2024.
The Jets will play even more prime-time football in 2024 than last year. The team is scheduled to play seven nationally televised games, including six at night. They have two Monday night games, two Sunday night games, two Thursday night games, and a London game.
When it’s all said and done, the Jets might end up playing more than seven nationally televised games. All seven of the Jets’ nationally televised games are scheduled within their first 11 games, meaning any of their final six games could still be flexed into prime time.
Light up MetLife like never before
Of the Jets’ six prime-time games, four are at home. This would be the most home prime-time games the Jets have ever played in a season, breaking the franchise record of three that previously occurred in three different seasons: 2023, 2011, and 2010. The Jets technically played four nationally televised home games last year if you include their Black Friday game, but they’ve never played four night games at home in a season.
The Jets will host Thursday night games against New England and Houston, a Monday night game against Buffalo, and a Sunday night game against Indianapolis. We’ll get plenty of opportunities to see the incredible LED lighting displays that MetLife Stadium began to put on in 2023.
Jets’ health and ability to gel will be tested early
With a Monday night game in Week 1 and a Thursday night game in Week 3, the Jets will play three games in a 10-day span to open the season. This will be a huge challenge for a team that has major injury questions and is currently projected to have eight new starters across both sides of the ball.
Gelling quickly will be key for the Jets. Two of their first three games will come on short weeks. They won’t have the normal amount of time between games to reflect and learn as they work through the early-season growing pains of a revamped roster.
The Jets’ durability will also be challenged early. Right off the bat, the Jets will have to play on six days’ rest and then four days’ rest. Players with injury concerns, such as Aaron Rodgers, Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, Mike Williams, and Alijah Vera-Tucker, will immediately be put to the test.
Opportunity for a strong start through five games
The season opener features arguably the hardest opponent on their schedule, and the two games on short rest will be challenging. Still, the first section of the Jets’ schedule looks promising. They have an opportunity to start off strong through five games.
After San Francisco, the Jets will face four consecutive teams with a projected win total of 6.5 or worse (per DraftKings Sportsbook): Tennessee, New England, Denver, and Minnesota. These four teams combine for an average over-under of 5.8 wins. Not only that, but just one of these four matchups is a true road game. Two are at home and the other is on a neutral site in London.
To be honest, I find it pointless to try and break down the “soft” and “hard” parts of a schedule before the season begins. So much will change between now and when those games are played. Remember the 2022 schedule discourse? The Jets were handed a “gauntlet” to start the year but had a chance to finish strong against a soft back half. Instead, they started 7-4 and finished on a six-game losing streak. Supposedly difficult road games in Green Bay and Denver turned out to be two very winnable games against teams that finished with losing records. Two opponents that looked “easy” in May, Detroit and Jacksonville, turned out to be solid teams who gave the Jets trouble. More importantly, they were hot when the Jets rolled around.
So, take this section with a grain of salt. For all we know, the 49ers will stink this year while the Titans and Vikings meet up in the Super Bowl. None of us know where the soft and hard parts of the Jets’ schedule will fall.
Nonetheless, I do think it is objectively fair to say that the four-game stretch from Weeks 2-5 is a part of the schedule the Jets should dominate if they have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Just look at the quarterbacks they’ll face: Will Levis, Drake Maye/Jacoby Brissett, Bo Nix/Zach Wilson, and J.J. McCarthy/Sam Darnold. While there are countless other variables that could make these teams better than expected, we can feel confident that the Jets will have a major quarterback advantage in all four contests. That alone is enough to make this an appealing stretch of games.
Favorable late-season weather
The schedule-makers were kind to the Jets’ aging veterans. Late in the season, the Jets won’t face as much harsh winter weather as they could have.
Two of the Jets’ final five games are in Florida: Week 14 at Jacksonville and Week 15 at Miami. The Jets must still endure a Week 17 trip to Buffalo, and they also have two home games in chilly New Jersey during those final five games, but things could have been much worse with road games in Pittsburgh and New England on the schedule. Late-season MetLife weather is nowhere near as bad as Pittsburgh or New England. Having two of the last five games in Florida and two more at home will be a blessing for the veteran players as they prepare for the playoffs.
As part of a conference with many contenders who play in cold-weather stadiums, the Jets will have to win in the cold at some point if they want to reach the Super Bowl. The Jets’ road to New Orleans will almost certainly run through Kansas City, Cincinnati, Baltimore, or Buffalo. So, let’s not celebrate too much about dodging the cold – leave that to the Dolphins. Still, the Jets are a high-risk injury team. Down the stretch, the Jets will take whatever advantage they can get to minimize injury risk as they try to keep everyone healthy for the postseason.
