Once the NFL Draft concludes and rookie minicamp is complete, there’s an eery quiet surrounding the league as teams look to get ready for the long season ahead of them. Organizations continue to look to improve their roster by signing free agents, sure, but the most excitement generated after the draft comes when the league releases its 18-week schedule.
For the New York Jets, the 2023-24 schedule release brings renewed optimism to a team with championship aspirations. The addition of Aaron Rodgers and the collection of young talent around him has allowed fans of the Jets to dream of a possible end to their decade-long playoff drought.
New York’s acquisition of Rodgers will also have a much different effect on their overall schedule. Even with finishing 7-10 last year, Gang Green is expected to receive several key prime time slots throughout the upcoming season. While the Jets have had just three Sunday night games since Rex Ryan was head coach, the change in the NFL’s schedule to no longer allow every team to play on Thursday and Monday night will leave both contests available for prime time slots.
What does this mean? It means that the Jets are going to be under the lights a lot in 2023.
Before we go into which games should be in prime time, let’s look back at the opponents New York will be facing this upcoming season.
HOME Games
Buffalo Bills (13-3)
Miami Dolphins (9-8)
New England Patriots (8-9)
Kansas City Chiefs (14-3)
Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Washington Commanders (8-8-1)
Houston Texans (3-13-1)
Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
AWAY Games
Buffalo Bills (13-3)
Miami Dolphins (9-8)
New England Patriots (8-9)
Denver Broncos (5-12)
Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)
Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
New York Giants (9-7-1)
Cleveland Browns (7-10)
Now after looking at the upcoming opponents, let’s look at which of these teams should be met in the prime time slot. The maximum amount of primetime games a team has is six, but for safe measure, we’ll go with just five teams as the expectation is that the Jets will not receive the max.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are a rating bonanza and will probably get the max prime-time clots just because that is who they are. Add in the fact that Aaron Rodgers has a long-standing history of messing up Dallas’ playoff plans and you have what could be an excellent mid-season matchup for a lot of people.
Philadelphia Eagles
The defending NFC Champions have never lost to the Jets since the team was created in 1960. New York’s current squad is arguably the best overall group to see Philadelphia though in decades. While the Jets will have their hands full, this could be an early season game that is a perfect spot for the top viewership slot.
New York Giants
Should the Jets and Giants open up the season on Monday Night Football? That’s the prevailing rumor right now, especially on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11. Both New York teams come into the 2023-24 season with plenty of expectations, but this would be an easy game to pinpoint to start the year.
Miami Dolphins
You can put any AFC East opponent and it would make sense for the Jets to face them in prime time. That being said, with Miami’s offseason moves and the Jets having an all-time great quarterback, that might just be enough to put this game over the likes of Buffalo and a bottom-cellar Patriots team. Can’t go wrong either way though.
Kansas City Chiefs
The defending champs vs. one of the best quarterbacks to ever play. This is an obvious choice for the NFL that could start as a 4:00 game and get flexed to later. Kansas City is considered a favorite to repeat this year and it’ll be a good test for the Jets to see just how good their roster can be throughout the year.
