We’ve known the who and the where for a long time with the Jets’ schedule for 2023. Now we know the when and the order for those games. As a result, some interesting notes has come about with the schedule and we’ll get into some of those pieces here, starting with the Jets landing something that has only happened three times in almost 100 years.
Jets essentially playing 10 home games in 2023
This year is the AFC’s turn to have the extra home game on the schedule, giving the Jets and the other 15 teams in the conference nine home games and eight road games.
For the Jets, one of those eight road games comes against the Giants, the team they share MetLife Stadium with. That means the Jets will play ten games on their home field, even with one of them being spent in the visitor’s locker room.
How rare is this? As John Breech of CBS Sports notes, this is only the third time since the 1929 season that a team got to play at least ten games in their stadium. The last time was actually last season with the Los Angeles Rams having nine home games plus a road game against the Chargers. But before that? You have to go all the way back the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1929.
Jets among the teams with the fewest frequent flyer miles in 2023, especially within AFC East
With the AFC East drawing the NFC East this season, the travel for the Jets was cut down a bit, though that was balanced out by drawing the AFC West and having trips to Denver and Las Vegas.
Still, only six teams — Bengals, Packers, Bears, Panthers, Vikings, Lions — will travel fewer total miles this season than the Jets’ 14,282. The most are the Seattle Seahawks at 31,600.
In the first nine weeks of the season, the Jets leave MetLife Stadium just twice — Week 2 at Dallas, Week 5 at Denver.
Another note is that the Jets are the only AFC East team not traveling overseas in 2023. The Bills head to London in October while the Patriots and Dolphins visit Germany in November. It will be interesting to see if that becomes an advantage for the Jets.
No games against teams coming off bye week, very favorable rest schedule
One thing teams can look at is games they will be playing against an opponent that is coming off their bye week, giving them rest and extra time to prepare. The Jets don’t have to worry about that in 2023. They have zero games this season against a team coming off their bye. New York is one of 12 teams with that luxury. The Rams and 49ers, on the flip side, face four teams coming off their bye.
As also noted by ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the Jets have the second-most advantageous schedule in terms of rest before games. They have a plus-12 in days of net rest differential compared to their opponents. Last year, that number was minus-8.
The Jets do have three weeks with a road game on a short week — Week 2 at Dallas, Week 10 at Las Vegas, Week 17 at Cleveland — but the overall rest differential is very favorable for the Jets this season.
A lot of national exposure, not as many early kickoffs
The Aaron Rodgers effect also helped the Jets get into better windows throughout the schedule, not just in prime time. After playing 14 games last season with a 1:00 kickoff, the Jets are currently scheduled for just six games in the early window (Week 18 at New England is to be determined).
In addition to the five prime time games and the Black Friday appearance (3:00 eastern), the Jets have four games set for a 4:25 kickoff. That’s ten games in a stronger broadcast window, including five of their first six before their Week 7 bye. New York has a 1:00 kickoff in Week 3 against the Patriots. The next one after that is Week 8 at the Giants and then not again until four straight in Weeks 13-16.
That’s a far cry from 14 1:00 games and two 4:05 games.
