Although the the full slate of each team’s games is known the moment the prior regular season ends, the configuration of those contests becomes critical to that team’s success.
For young teams that are trying to find their footing, it’s helpful to have a few winnable games early. The Jets, for example, would have benefited from facing the likes of the Jaguars, Bears, and/or Lions in the first month of the season. Instead, those potential soft spots won’t arrive until well after the Jets have, or haven’t, developed as a relevant team.
The Jets begin with a full tour of the AFC North, facing the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, and Steelers. (Not great, Bob.)
It gets no easier. Next are the Dolphins, Packers, Broncos, Patriots, and Bills.
The Jets will surely be the underdogs in each of these nine games, unless they score enough early upsets to alter perceptions and/or betting trends. With a Week 10 bye, they could limp into the break with a very bad record.
The easy games, if any NFL games are easy, land after the Week 10 bye. Bears in Week 12. Vikings in Week 13, if they aren’t very good this year (no one really knows at this point). Lions in Week 15. Jaguars in Week 16. Seahawks in Week 17, if they aren’t very good this year (no one really knows at this point).
The Jets surely would have liked to have gotten a few of those games in September. Checking a couple of boxes in the first four weeks makes it easier to build confidence and momentum.
Surely, the Jets aren’t happy with the schedule. They’ll never admit it, nor should they. The chicken shit has landed. Their only choice is to try to make chicken salad.