The NFL announced the regular-season schedule on Wednesday night. Here are some quick thoughts on the Jets’ schedule along with some comments from coach Rex Ryan:
1. Tough turnaround: For the second straight season, the Jets have to travel to New England to play the Patriots on a Thursday night (Week 7). The trip this year looks even tougher considering the Jets face the Broncos four days earlier (Week 6). Those are the two teams that played in the AFC Championship game in January. The Jets get them four days apart. Yikes.
“That’s a huge challenge,” Ryan said. “Another year where we go on the road on a Thursday night to play New England isn’t ideal. We’ll be up for it. It is a challenge. You’re facing the two best teams in the AFC last year that played in the Championship game back-to-back and then obviously having the challenge to go on the road Thursday night to play the Patriots. We’ll have a lot of football to play up until that. Hopefully, we’re hitting our stride when we play those two teams.”
In 2011, the Jets faced the Patriots on a Sunday night and then went to Denver on a Thursday. They lost both games and it severely damaged their playoff hopes. Lose these two in October and the Jets could be staring at a similar situation.
2. No frozen tundra: Whenever a trip to Green Bay is on the schedule, teams hope that game does not pop up in December. The Jets lucked out. Their trip to Lambeau Field comes in Week 2, meaning temperatures in Wisconsin should be comfortable.
“I was definitely looking at that Green Bay [game] and was happy to see we’re playing them Week 2 instead of having to play them in the elements in late December,” Ryan said.
The Jets did not completely escape potentially freezing games. They face the Vikings in Week 14 on Dec. 7 in Minneapolis. Normally that would be no big deal because the Vikings have played their games in the Metrodome for years. But this year they are moving outside to the University of Minnesota’s field as their new stadium gets under construction.
3. QBs all in a row: The Jets pass defense was terrible last season (22nd in the NFL). We’ll find out quickly if it has improved.
How is this for a lineup of quarterbacks? Beginning in Week 2, the Jets could face these guys consecutively: Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
The Jets face five of the top six passing offenses from last season in that stretch. Dee Milliner better have improved.
4. Get home early: The Jets open the season with three of the first four games at home, giving them a chance to get off to a fast start. The Jets went 6-2 at MetLife Stadium last season with huge wins over the Patriots and Saints there.
The Jets begin the season with the Raiders at home and play the Bears and Lions there in Weeks 3 and 4.
“The first thing that jumped out at me is we get the opportunity to open at home with our first game and then three of our first four games are at home,” Ryan said. “Obviously, I’m extremely excited about that to have that opportunity three out of four in front of our fans. I know the energy that that gives to our team and the boost that we get from that. I’m really happy with the way we start.”
That early home-cooking does come with a price. The Jets finish the season with three of four on the road, where they were a dismal 2-6 last season.
“The other thing that jumps out is we close, conversely, with three out of four on the road,” Ryan said. “Clearly, as a team we have to improve how we play on the road. Last year the only wins we had on the road were we had Atlanta and then we had Miami at the end. Clearly, we have to make big strides in how we play on the road.”
5. Going back to Miami: The Jets end their season in Miami against the Dolphins for the second straight year and third time in four years. Their last trip there was a celebration. They won the game, Ryan’s job was safe and the team whooped it up in a memorable postgame celebration that included a Gatorade bath for Ryan – possibly the first one ever for an 8-8 season.
This time the Jets could be going there with their season and Ryan’s job on the line again. If the Jets don’t make the playoffs, Ryan likely will be fired. So can the Jets duplicate the magic of the end of 2013 or will it have more of a feel of 2011 when the team imploded in South Florida? It is a fascinating storyline for the end of the year.