The New York Jets’ offseason is in full swing now that the NFL Draft and free agency are out of the way. From this point on, it's all about making the 90-man roster as good as it can be via OTAs, workouts, and training camp.

The Jets got no favors early on starting with back to back road games including an incredible matchup at San Francisco on Monday Night to kick the season off.  The Jets wound up with seven stand alone games (six prime time games plus a Sunday morning matchup), hosting four of them and even managed to fit in a quick trip to London.

The schedule makers did the Jets no favors at the beginning or the end of the season.  The Jets start the season with three games in 10 days including two on the road.  A the tail end the Jets end with the team going on the road to division rivals Buffalo and home to Miami to close out the season.  It's impossible to know how things will shake out by then, but it is highly likely that those games could be huge in determining the AFC East champ.

So, let's not waste any more time and go over the Jets' 2024 schedule.

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Jets' 2024 Schedule:

• Week 1: @ San Francisco 49ers (Monday, September 9, 8:15pm ET)
• Week 2: @ Tennessee Titans (Sunday, September 15, 1pm ET)
• Week 3: New England Patriots (Thursday, September 19, 8:15pm ET)
• Week 4: Denver Broncos (Sunday, September 29, 1pm ET) 
• Week 5: @ Minnesota Vikings (Sunday October 6, 9:30am ET) 
• Week 6:  Buffalo Bills (Monday, October 14, 8:15pm ET)
• Week 7:  @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, October 20, 8:20pm ET)
• Week 8:  @ New England Patriots (Sunday, October 27, 1pm ET)
• Week 9:  Houston Texans (Thursday, October 31, 8:15pm ET) 
• Week 10: @ Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, November 10, 4:25pm ET)
• Week 11:  Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, November 17, 8:20pm ET)
• Week 12:  BYE
• Week 13:  Seattle Seahawks (Sunday, December 1, 1pm ET)
• Week 14: @ Miami Dolphins (Sunday, December 8, 1pm ET)
• Week 15: @ Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, December 15, 1pm ET)
• Week 16: Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, December 22, 1pm ET)
• Week 17: @ Buffalo Bills (Sunday, December 29, 1pm ET)
• Week 18: Miami Dolphins (Date/Time TBD)

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Biggest Games on the Jets' 2024 Schedule

Every divisional game: The AFC East came down to the wire last season and while the top two teams, Miami and Buffalo, got a little worse this offseason considering their losses, the Jets have closed the gap thanks to some slick moves and a (hopefully) healthy Aaron Rodgers.

Jets vs. Texans: Last year’s darlings, the Houston Texans were riding high when they traveled to MetLife in December and thought they would roll over the reeling Jets only to get molly-whopped 30-6 in what might have been Zach Wilson’s best game as a pro. Neither team will take each other for granted this year when they face off on Halloween night.

Jets @ 49ers: In order to be the best, you first have to beat the best, and the San Francisco 49ers have been the standard in the NFL for the last few seasons. There is also a love/hate relationship with Rodgers and the 49ers ever since they passed on him in the draft in favor of Alex Smith.

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Primetime Matchups and Streaming info

Which games will be primetime viewing?

Week 1 – Jets @ 49ers: Like last year, the Jets will open the season on Monday Night.  Last year was a bitter sweet game as the Jets won in spectacular fashion in overtime, but lost Aaron Rodgers for the season when he was sacked by Leonard Floyd four plays in.  Now, the Jets are back on Monday Night for a huge matchup in the Bay area and guess which team now employs Leonard Floyd.  Yup, the 49ers. Game will be on ESPN.

Week 3- Patriots vs Jets: Aaron Rodgers makes his New York return against the former bully of the AFC East on Thursday Night Football for the Jets home opener.  The game will stream on Amazon Prime.

Week 5 – Jets @ Vikings: While this isn't a "primetime" game, it will be the only game on at the time so I'm counting it.  The Jets travel to London where the Vikings will play "host" to New York at 9:30am ET on NFLN.

Week 6 – Bills vs Jets: The Jets face off against the team that has lead the division for the past few season coming back from overseas on Monday Night.  The Jets will get their first look at the new Bills offense which is sure to feature a lot more of the run game. Game will be on ESPN.

Week 7 – Jets @ Steelers: Mike Tomlin always has a formidable team and the Jets will travel to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team lead by T.J. Watt.  Will it be Russell Wilson at QB for the Steelers or Justin Fields.  Either way the Jets defense will have to be ready to stop the run.  Game will be on NBC

Week 9 – Texans vs. Jets: It will be scary for the Jets to face CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans on Halloween Night.  This will be the Jets second appearance on Thursday Night Football of the season.  The game will stream on Amazon Prime.

Week 11 – Colts vs Jets: New York will get a look at Anthony Richardson, provided he learned to slide by then, for a Sunday Night matchup at MetLife Stadium on NBC.

Strength of Schedule (based off Vegas win totals, not 2023 record)

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis does this cool thing every year where he ranks teams' strength of schedule based off Vegas' projected win totals for the upcoming season. He doesn't base it off the standard last-year's-record model and it makes a lot more sense, because of all the change teams go through during the offseason.

At the time of this publication, he hasn't updated it to reflect Vegas' updated, post-draft totals and I'll update this once the information becomes available. Regardless, Sharp has the Jets' SOS as the fourth-easiest. Only the Falcons, Chargers and Bears in that order, have easier schedules, as you can see below:

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Revenge Games on the Vikings' 2024 schedule

• Sam Darnold and the New York Jets: Stop me if you heard this one, but the Jets thought they had their quarterback of the future when they drafted a kid out of USC only to move on from him a few years later. Darnold is currently slated to be the starter in Minnesota but could get supplanted first round pick J.J. McCarthy by the time both teams travel to London in Week 5.
• Robert Saleh vs. the 49ers: Saleh bounced around the league as an assistant coach before catching on and leading the stellar 49ers defense for four seasons. This will be Saleh’s first chance to stick it to his former team and he won't have to wait long. Javon Kinlaw and Isaiah Oliver also get a shot at revenge in this one.
• Leki Fotu faces his former team: Fotu came over early in free agency from the Arizona Cardinals and will get a shot against his old squad.

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5 Must-watch Matchups

• Jets defense against the 49ers offense: Can you tell how big this week one matchup is? The Jets hail playmakers at every level of their of their defense while the 49ers have numerous weapons on offense. The coaches on both sides know each other well.
• Sauce Gardner vs. Justin Jefferson: The Jets don’t move Sauce around the field to cover a team’s best wide receiver, but when these two lineup across from each other it is best vs best.  These two should put on a show in London.
• Jets offensive line vs. the Steelers front: The Steelers are known for their defense, and with T.J. Watt making a case for defensive MVP every year, it will be a real test for the newly built Jets offensive line when they travel to Pittsburgh for a Sunday night matchup in Week 7.
• Jets secondary vs. C.J. Stroud and the Texans receivers: The Jets boast one of the best secondaries in the NFL with Sauce, DJ Reed and Michael Carter, but the Texans are loaded at receiver and are especially scary after acquiring Stefon Diggs from the Bills for this Halloween matchup.
• Nathaniel Hackett vs. Sean Payton: Look, I’m not a Hackett fan and frankly I didn’t think he should have been back. But I’m in the media and not in the inner circle of NFL coaches. What Payton said last year about Hackett was a punk move and I will forever root against him because of it. The Jets already won in Denver last year and will get another chance this year in Week 4 at MetLife. 

Jets’ past failures have them deploying the wrong draft strategy that leads to shocking roster fact

As I watched the NFL draft unfold, I was filled with hope and optimism about the Jets 2024 season. Aaron Rodgers was back. The offense, when healthy, has the ability to be one of the best in the AFC. The defense is stout, and I trust Jeff Ulbrich and Robert Saleh to get the most […]