The New York Jets enter 2025 with a clean slate. No Super Bowl aspirations or lofty expectations. The only thing in question is whether this team can stay competitive all season and whether Aaron Glenn is the correct head coach for the football team.
The answer to the second question might not be answered after year one, but the fans will be swayed one way or the other.
After 11 primetime games over the last two seasons, the Jets will have just three in 2025: Week 4 against the Dolphins on Monday Night Football, Week 6 against the Broncos across the pond in London, and Week 11 at New England against the Patriots.
All eyes are on the first matchup of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If former Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, then you’ll be grabbing some popcorn on Sept. 7. If not, then Pittsburgh goes into a season with Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Skylar Thompson as their quarterback options.
If that’s the case, New York can potentially begin the Glenn and Darren Moughey era in the win column.
In Weeks 2 and 3, they’ll play the Buffalo Bills at home and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Sunshine State.
While the previous regime had some sort of success against Buffalo, the Bills are the Super Bowl champions of September football. Since Josh Allen’s rookie year in 2018, Buffalo has gone 14-8 in the first month of the season. Their worst start came in Allen’s rookie year, when they went 1-3, so if you take that season out, the Bills are 13-5 in September.
The Buccaneers have an elite offense with Baker Mayfield under center, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka out of Ohio State and Cade Otton at tight end. Godwin is coming off a season-ending ankle injury, so if he’s not 100% for the first few weeks of the year, Jalen McMillan is one of, if not the best No. 4 wide receiver in football.
Tampa Bay also has a two-headed running back core with Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
On the defensive side of the ball, they have former Jets head coach Todd Bowles call the plays, and it’s a defense that ranked 18th in total defense a season ago.
The trip to London could be tough, but they decided to forgo their bye week instead of taking it after London. They’ll host the Panthers, who showed offensive promise during the back end of last season. Their defense ranked last in total defense, so it’ll be a winnable matchup for New York.
As of right now, the team’s toughest stretch of games is either the first four weeks against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Miami, or Weeks 7 through 13.
It’s difficult to figure out who will be good or bad in an upcoming season in May, but from Weeks 7 to 13, they play the Bengals on the road and the Browns at home. After the bye in week 9, the Jets head to Foxboro and Baltimore, then come back home against the Falcons and Dolphins.
There are a couple of stretches where this team might only win a couple of games, but if Cincinnati’s defense is as putrid as it was a season ago and the Jets’ defense plays to their potential, Week 7 against the Bengals is a winnable game.
The Browns quarterback room is a mess, but they have a very solid defense and a head coach that is just two seasons removed from a Coach of the Year award.
New England, with Mike Vrabel at the helm, will be difficult, but there’s no guarantee that second-year quarterback Drake Maye will have it figured out by Week 10.
The Ravens are one of the better teams not only in the AFC but in the NFL. This one will likely be penciled in as a loss.
Atlanta is expected to be better in 2025, considering they made drastic changes to their defense. They signed edge rusher Lenoard Floyd in free agency and spent four draft picks on defensive players that could all be day-one starters.
Raheem Morris and co. drafted edge rusher and linebacker Jalon Walker, edge rusher James Pearce Jr., and safeties Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr.
The Dolphins will remain a tough out for the Jets as long as Tua Tagovailoa stays healthy, along with his speedy receiving core in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Record Prediction
If this defense can return to the level that Robert Saleh had them at and they learn to stop the run, this team might surprise some people.
Jets owner Woody Johnson will also have to stay out of the way in order for this team to have any sort of success, short-term, but especially long-term.
Justin Fields, while he wasn’t brought in to be the franchise quarterback, will have to do what he does best and use his legs. If he can protect the football and this offense line can create running lanes for Fields, Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, this might be a hard-nosed football team that competes with everyone.
Yes, it’s only May, but the 2025 New York Jets will finish 8-9, splitting with the Dolphins and Patriots and losing to the Bills twice.
