When the Jets' 2024 schedule was unveiled in May, it appeared to be one of the most high-visibility yet also one of the most demanding schedules in NFL annals.
And that was only the half of it.
The Jets have survived the first part of their challenging start, losing their opener at defending NFC champion San Francisco on Sept. 9 but rebounding with their gritty fourth-quarter win at Tennessee six days later.
It's an unusual start for any NFL team, playing on the road on MNF in its season opener, then on the road again in Week 2. Putting a "new millennium" spin on this topic, since the 2000 season, 40 teams have been scheduled to open away on Monday night. Only three of those have then been scheduled to stay away from home for Game 2 — the 2001 Giants (at Denver, at Kansas City), the 2010 Ravens (at the Jets in their first regular-season game at MetLife Stadium, at Cincinnati) and the 2011 Raiders (at Denver, at Buffalo).
All four of these teams, including the Jets this season, went 1-1 in their tough opening two-packs. Of the 36 other teams that played away on MNF, then at home for their second games, their combined record in their Game 2 home openers was a sparkling 24-12.
The Jets' next game, their MetLife home opener against New England on Thursday night, adds another element to the degree of difficulty for the Green & White.
The NFL has regularly scheduled Thursday night games since 1978, when the league went from 14- to 16-game schedules. The popularity of "Thursday Night Football" took off first in 2006 when the league designated eight games in the second half of the regular-season schedule as either Thursday or Saturday night games, all part of NFL Network's "Run to the Playoffs" package.
Beginning in 2012, the frequency of TNF games began to grow toward its current model of at least one Thursday night game per week and every team scheduled to play in at least one of those games.
Since '12, only three teams have opened their seasons with their first game on Monday (home or away) and their Week 3 game on Thursday (home or away). In other words, Games 1-3, all in an 11-day span. Those teams were the 2013 Eagles (at Washington on MNF, vs. San Diego, vs. Kansas City on TNF), the 2018 Jets (at Detroit, vs. Miami, at Cleveland) and of course this year's Jets.
If it sounds like a grind, that's because it is. But members of this year's Jets have offered only positive thoughts about the challenges they faced in San Francisco, then Nashville, and now on Thursday night against their long-time AFL/AFC East rivals.
"The coaching staff is exhausted, the players are exhausted," head coach Robert Saleh said this week. "But at the same time, it's the same message. Nobody cares how you get to gameday. Nobody cares about context. They don't care if your dog died. They don't care. The expectation is that you perform, and that's the expectation in this building."
QB Aaron Rodgers also chooses to look on the bright side of life in the NFL, even during trying stretches.
"Yeah, testing the body for sure, but we love to play, so shorter time between games is great," Rodgers said. "It's definitely tough on the body, tough on the week, but easier for a guy who's 20 than a guy who's 40. But I'll be ready to go Thursday night and look forward to three days off."
Also known as a "mini-bye week," the nine total days in between a Thursday night game and a game two Sundays later. And for the Jets, going into the mini-bye 2-1 with a win over the Patriots instead of 1-2 will help them look forward all the more to Game 4, also at home, against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 30.
