A dark cloud is hanging over the New York Jets.

Except this time, it’s merely a literal dark cloud, with no accompanying figurative one (yet).

The Jets are riding high at 1-0 after a dominant season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans. Fans are buzzing heading into the team’s Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers, but the weather forecast in East Rutherford, N.J., predicts that Sunday’s home opener could be a gloomy one.

Per the latest forecast from The Weather Channel as of this writing (8:21 a.m. EST on Wednesday), there is an 80% chance of rain during the day on Sunday in East Rutherford.

While it would force fans to brunt the elements, this forecast would actually favor the Jets on the field.

Here’s why Jets fans should pray to the football gods for a rainy home opener at MetLife Stadium.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain

Before we break down why the rain would be so beneficial for the Jets, we must understand the state of their opponent.

Here’s the harsh reality in Wisconsin: The Green Bay Packers are already in dire straits heading into Week 2.

Sure, they’ve only lost one game, like the other 15 losers in Week 1, but Green Bay is still navigating a chronic issue that dates back to December of last season:

They don’t know how to win without Micah Parsons.

Green Bay started the 2025 season with a 9-3-1 record after acquiring the megastar defender from Dallas. After Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15, the Packers finished the season 0-5 without him. That includes the game when he was injured, as Green Bay blew a lead after his injury, as well as a playoff loss.

The Packers were particularly bad defensively, yielding 28.8 points per game in those five contests, a 9.8-point jump from the first 13 games. There was hope that Green Bay could find solutions to work around Parsons’ absence in 2026, especially since the team knew he would miss at least four games to start the year (PUP list), but one week in, the team looks as helpless as ever without him.

Opening the season in Minnesota, Green Bay blew a 22-10 lead against Vikings backup quarterback Carson Wentz, yielding 29 straight points in what amounted to a 39-22 blowout loss. The Packers are now 0-6 while allowing 30.5 points per game without Parsons.

This Parsons-less version of Green Bay does not have much going for it. Defensively, they have been a trainwreck. The defensive troubles have revealed just how many issues they have on offense, as that unit has been unable to keep up in high-scoring games.

Jordan Love is a skilled quarterback who can push the ball downfield, and the Packers have some explosive weapons who can connect with him on big plays. That’s about all Green Bay has going for them right now, though.

The Packers’ offensive line is a complete mess. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores took advantage of this by blitzing Love on more than 80% of his dropbacks in Week 1, a downright disrespectful message to Green Bay’s offensive line. It worked like a charm, as Love was pressured on a league-high 54% of his dropbacks.

As a team, Green Bay posted the worst pass-blocking grade of Week 1, per Pro Football Focus, at an ugly 37.7. It shows how poorly the Packers handled the Vikings’ blitzes via communication and chemistry, along with their one-on-one blocking struggles; Green Bay allowed edge rusher Dallas Turner to rack up seven quarterback hits.

Making matters worse is that the offensive line is not picking up the slack in the run game. The Packers ran for just 66 yards on 21 carries in Week 1, a measly 3.1 yards per attempt.

Green Bay ranked 22nd in run-blocking grade (58.7). With starting running back Josh Jacobs absent due to off-field issues, the mediocre run blocking just won’t cut it. His replacements in the backfield, Chris Brooks and MarShawn Lloyd, did not look intimidating in the slightest, combining for one forced missed tackle on 20 carries. If they keep running like that, they will only go as far as the offensive line takes them, which won’t be very far at all if the blocking doesn’t improve quickly.

All of these Packer problems should make it abundantly clear how much the Jets would benefit from a rainy game.

The Packers’ offensive line woes would already be enough of a problem in a road game against a team in its home opener, playing in front of an energized crowd that is riding high after a Week 1 win. Throw in the fact that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is right behind Brian Flores among the league’s most blitz-heavy coaches, and this is already a nightmarish matchup for Green Bay’s offense before you throw in the rain.

Add some H2O droplets from the sky, and now the Packers are in football hell.

Love’s downfield connection with his pass-catching unit is easily the most reliable strength for Green Bay right now. Wide receiver Christian Watson had a phenomenal opener, catching six passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Matthew Golden (6/95), tight end Tucker Kraft (3/65), and tight end Jonnu Smith (2/50) also had productive games, and Jayden Reed is waiting to break out after a quiet opener (3/20).

The Packers earned a 78.6 receiving grade from PFF in Week 1. Not only did that rank third in the NFL, but it was more than 15 points better than their rating in any other offensive facet (passing, pass-blocking, run-blocking, rushing).

With the rain, though, the Packers’ greatest weapon will be hindered to a certain degree. It will force them to rely more on their ground game, which, based on the performance of their offensive line and running backs in Week 1, is not an ideal formula.

The Jets, meanwhile, appear highly equipped for this kind of game.

New York’s offensive line was outstanding in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. Coupled with excellent blocking from the tight ends, the Jets’ offensive front consistently generated yards before contact in the run game, while they hardly allowed quarterback Geno Smith to be touched in the pass game, even as Smith held the ball for over 3.1 seconds on average.

Mind you, this was on the road in another team’s home opener. Now, the Jets will be coming home to play in front of their own electric crowd. Home-field advantage has the greatest impact on offensive line play, as it allows the home team’s offensive line to enjoy a quiet environment for communication, while crowd noise interrupts the visiting unit’s communication.

Don’t forget, too, that the Titans’ defensive line is not filled with slouches. Jeffery Simmons is arguably the best defensive tackle in the NFL, while former Jets starter John Franklin-Myers was a very solid starter for the elite Denver Broncos defense before coming to Tennessee.

The Jets shut that group down in their own house. Now, they’re coming home to play a Packers team that doesn’t have nearly as much firepower in the trenches without Parsons.

Advantage: Jets.

If the rain falls on Sunday, forcing both teams to count on a more physical, grounded style of football, it seems obvious which team would be more prepared to handle it.