2024 Jets Schedule Analysis: Green & White Remain in National Spotlight with 7 Stand-Alone Games (2024)

With a healthy Aaron Rodgers returning to the lineup and several talented offseason acquisitions joining the fray, the National Football League has made the Jets a must-see early and often throughout the 2024 season.

Starting with the Jets' Monday night road date against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 9 and ending with the Green & White's visit from the Colts on Nov. 17, the Jets will appear in the NFL maximum six primetime games over the team's first 11 weeks. Of the six primetime contests, the Jets' four home games under the lights are a franchise high. In addition to the loaded primetime slate, the Jets will be the "away" team when they face the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 6.

The Jets' home opener will be an intradivision Thursday night matchup against the Patriots on Sept. 19, marking the third time the Jets have opened their home slate on a Thursday and their second Thursday home opener against the Pats. They'll also close the regular season at home inside the division as the Dolphins will visit in Week 18.

2024 Jets Schedule Highlights

Nothing Routine About It
In the 11 games before their Week 12 bye, the Jets do not have two consecutive weeks with the same number of days in between games. Beginning with Week 2, the days between games are 6, 4, 10, 7, 8, 6, 7, 4, 10 and 7.

The only other time in franchise history with an 11-game (10-week) stretch of a different number of days between games each week was 1963, when the Jets in their first year as Jets went all 14 games (13 weeks) with different numbers of days between each game.

4 Night Games at Home
On Sept. 29, the Jets will host the Denver Broncos with the 1 p.m. contest being televised on CBS. The team's four other home games prior to a Week 12 bye will all come under the lights. After two AFC East foes — the Patriots (Thursday, Sept. 19) and the Bills (Monday, Oct. 14) — visit for a pair of 8:15 p.m. kickoffs, New York's AFC representative will host two AFC South clubs in national games as the Texans will make a return visit on Halloween and the Colts will play guest in a nationally televised Sunday night affair on Nov. 17.

3 Long Weeks
Let's look at the glass as being half full. After the Jets home opener against New England, they'll have 10 days before the Broncos pay a visit on Sept. 29. When the Jets return from their date with the Vikings in London, they'll get an extra day of rest before a tussle with the Bills at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 14. They'll get another 10-day respite between the Thursday night home contest against the Texans and a Nov. 10 visit to Arizona.

4 Short Weeks
The 2024 schedule will also feature multiple quick turnarounds. After the Monday night opener in San Francisco, the Jets will head to Nashville six days later and take on the Titans on Sept. 15. Then it's another short week for the Green & White as the home opener vs. the Pats will be Thursday night on Prime at 8:15 p.m. After the Jets and Bills face off on Monday, Oct. 14, the Green & White will remain under the lights the ensuing Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. And following their second matchup with the Pats, at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 27, the Jets will only have a few days to prepare for the Thursday night home date with the Houston Texans.

Quick Start
The Jets have arguably the NFL's toughest task in Week 1 although the defending NFC Champion 49ers did finish 5-3 at home last season. The Bills and Steelers should provide stiff primetime resistance in back-to-back nationally televised games in Weeks 6 and 7, but on paper the Jets have a golden opportunity prior to the Week 12 bye.

Six of the Jets' first 11 opponents — Tennessee, New England (2X), Denver, Minnesota and Arizona — finished below .500 last season. Both the Titans and Patriots have new head coaches in Brian Callahan and Jerod Mayo, respectively. While Bills QB Josh Allen is one of the NFL's premier players and the 49ers' Brock Purdy has had a strong start to his career, the Jets' elite defense will face among a collection of the following group of passers — Will Levis (at TEN, Week 2), Jacoby Brissett/Drake Maye (Week 3 vs. NE, Week 8 at NE), Jarrett Stidham/Zach Wilson/Bo Nix (vs. DEN, Week 4), Sam Darnold/J.J. McCarthy (Week 6 vs. MIN), Russell Wilson/Justin Fields (at PIT, Week 7), Kyler Murray (at Arizona, Week 10) and Anthony Richardson/Joe Flacco (Week 11 vs. Indianapolis).

Early Kickoffs Late
With a TBD attached to Week 18's home date with the Dolphins, the Jets are scheduled to have five consecutive 1 p.m. kickoffs in December — vs. Seattle (Dec. 1), at Miami (Dec. 8), at Jacksonville (Dec. 15), vs. the L.A. Rams (Dec. 22) and at Buffalo (Dec. 29). While the weather promises to be tricky in Western New York, the Jets' two late trips to Florida could be advantageous in terms of lower heat and humidity.

Finally
In terms of schedule strength, the Jets SOS over the first five games is .435 (37-48) and there is an uptick over the middle 6 games to .471 (48-54). Over their final six games, which occur after the bye, the SOS is .598 (61-41).