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          New York Jets 2023 schedule: Takeaways, predictions

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterMay 12, 2023, 12:00 AM
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets' 2023 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

          Thanks to Aaron Rodgers, America will see a lot of the Jets in prime time -- five games, to be exact. They will play twice on Monday night (including the season opener versus the Buffalo Bills), twice on Sunday night and once on Thursday night. They also will be featured in the first Black Friday game, a 3 p.m. kickoff against the Miami Dolphins the day after Thanksgiving.

          My, how times have changed. The Jets had just one prime-time game last season and only 10 since 2017, the fourth fewest in the league. With the four-time MVP Rodgers at quarterback, and with an ascending roster that includes stars Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams and Garrett Wilson, the Jets have become a hot ticket.

          They will have ample opportunity to reverse a troubling trend -- an eight-game losing streak in prime-time games, dating to 2018.

          Here's what's in store for the Jets:

          Schedule

          Sept. 11: Buffalo (MNF)

          Sept. 17: at Dallas

          Sept. 24: New England

          Oct. 1: Kansas City (SNF)

          Oct. 8: at Denver

          Oct. 15: Philadelphia

          Oct. 22: Bye

          Oct. 29: at Giants

          Nov. 6: Los Angeles Chargers (MNF)

          Nov. 12: at Las Vegas Raiders (SNF)

          Nov. 19: at Buffalo

          Nov. 24: Miami Dolphins (Prime, Black Friday)

          Dec. 3: Atlanta

          Dec. 10: Houston

          Dec. 17: at Miami

          Dec. 24: Washington

          Dec. 28: at Cleveland (TNF)

          Jan. 6/7: at New England

          Strength of schedule: sixth-most difficult (.547)

          Over/under: 9.5

          Biggest takeaway

          The Jets face a gauntlet of quarterback heavyweights in the early portion of the season -- Buffalo's Josh Allen (Week 1), Dallas' Dak Prescott (Week 2), Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (Week 4), Denver's Russell Wilson (Week 5) and Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts (Week 6). In past years, the Jets wouldn't have been able to match up at the quarterback position because ... well, have you checked their recent history? Not anymore, not with Rodgers. He gives them a puncher's chance in every game, and that's a pretty big deal for a team accustomed to scheming around its quarterback to compensate for the deficiency. Now all the Jets need is Rodgers to play like he did in 2021, his last NFL MVP season.

          Revenge game

          It's an early one -- Week 3, with the Patriots at MetLife. Let's call this an annual revenge game, as the Patriots have won 14 straight in the series. Every year the Jets say, "It ends now!" -- and then it doesn't. Last year's 10-3 loss in Foxborough changed the course of the Jets' then-promising season. As if losing on a punt-return touchdown in the final seconds wasn't gut-wrenching enough, the Jets' world was flipped upside down when quarterback Zach Wilson refused in his postgame news conference to accept any responsibility for the horrific offensive performance. Three days later, he was benched. The QB dominos started to fall, ultimately leading them to Rodgers. If he can't end the streak, who will?

          Bold prediction

          The Jets will hit their bye week at 4-2, which would be quite an accomplishment when you consider the difficulty of their schedule. Everyone will focus on Rodgers, of course, but the defense will carry the flag. Like the Jets, the Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, Broncos and Eagles will have new offensive playcallers. That means early growing pains, which could mean lower scores than expected. With nine starters returning on their fourth-ranked defense, the Jets should be well-equipped to win those kind of games and carry the team until Rodgers and the offense find their footing.