While there were plenty of leaks to keep us occupied, the 2023 NFL schedule was officially released Thursday night for all 32 teams. The Aaron Rodgers effect played a big role for the Jets when it came to primetime games. However, the first six weeks of New York’s season will be no walk in the park.
It’ll be the toughest gauntlet in the NFL, according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Analytics.
Gang Green will be broadcast on the national stage a total of six times this upcoming season. That includes two appearances on Sunday Night Football. It’s the first time they’ll be playing on Sunday night since 2011. Here’s what their full schedule looks like:
- Week 1: vs. Buffalo Bills
- Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
- Week 3: vs. New England Patriots
- Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 5: at Denver Broncos
- Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 7: BYE
- Week 8: at New York Giants
- Week 9 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 10: at Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 11: at Buffalo Bills
- Week 12: vs. Miami Dolphins
- Week 13: vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Week 14: vs. Houston Texans
- Week 15: at Miami Dolphins
- Week 16: vs. Washington Commanders
- Week 17: at Cleveland Browns
- Week 18: at New England Patriots
Now, if you’re looking at this and thinking, “Phew, the first few weeks of the Jets’ season are going to be tough,” you’re not alone. Sharp took to Twitter to showcase strength of schedule statistics in various ways.
If we look specifically at the first six weeks of the upcoming season, the Jets have the toughest schedule:
toughest schedule the first 6 weeks:
32. Jets
31. Browns
30. Patriots
29. Titans
28. Buccaneers
27. Chiefs
26. Vikings
25. Panthers
24. Giants(32 = toughest)
BY FAR the toughest schedule the first 6 weeks is NYJ
face 4 teams projected to win > 9 games pic.twitter.com/huXjWjfsqQ
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 12, 2023
The Giants also make an appearance here. But the above graph really showcases how much tougher the Jets’ path to their Week 7 Bye is than everyone else.
Of course, this can’t be used as an excuse. They’ve got Aaron Rodgers throwing passes for them now, so it’s time to perform. If New York can get through that gauntlet and be in a good spot with its win-loss record, though, things might ease up from there. According to this analysis, their schedule from November 1st to the end of the regular season is slightly easier than average.
The Jets will obviously take things one week at a time. However, we’ll quickly find out what kind of team we have on our hands during this period. That’ll happen when you face a couple of divisional foes and both of the previous year’s Super Bowl teams in the span of six games.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
