The New York Jets won seven games a season ago. Their offense ranked 29th in the league in scoring at 15.8 points per game.
Gang Green was a product most simply did not want to watch on a consistent basis. Obviously, a lot of that had to do with four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers being injured less than a handful of snaps into his career with the Jets.
The 40-year-old Rodgers now returns to the mix as New York attempts to turn things around under embattled head coach Robert Saleh.
Just as they were this time last year, expectations are incredibly high in Jersey. The NFL schedule release added another layer to this with the Jets getting a whopping six primetime games. That matches the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers for the most.
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New York Jets schedule: Primetime matchups
- Week 1: @ San Francisco 49ers (Monday Night Football)
- Week 3: New England Patriots (Thursday Night Football)
- Week 6: Buffalo Bills (Monday Night Football)
- Week 7: Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday Night Football)
- Week 9: Houston Texans (Thursday Night Football)
- Week 11: Indianapolis Colts (Sunday Night Football)
Sure, the Jets are expected to be much better with Rodgers in the mix this coming season. They also added veteran wide receiver Mike Williams and fortified their offensive line in front of the future Hall of Fame signal caller. Then again, SIX primetime games?
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NFL explains why the New York Jets schedule includes six primetime games
“Yes, it’s an awful lot of prime-time games early in the season, but, obviously, I feel like Jets kind of owe us one,” NFL VP of broadcasting Mike North said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com.
The Jets owe the NFL one? What exactly does that mean? Well, it’s not hard to read between the lines. They were scheduled for five primetime games a season ago. After Rodgers went down on the season opener of Monday Night Football, the rest were absolute duds.
“When we had this conversation a year ago, we were — all of us — all-in on the Jets, and for that guy (Aaron Rodgers) to last four plays was disheartening for many of us,” North continued. “I feel like we could run it back, and certainly our broadcast partners, when they came to us early in the process talking about what storylines they want to focus on early in the season.”
That’s a lot of pressure to place on a quarterback who is coming off one of the most-severe football-related injuries and is set to turn 41 in December. Let’s see if the bet pays off.