The Jets’ 2020 regular-season schedule just came out, and there are already a lot of exciting games to look forward to.
New York will play the second-toughest schedule this season, which will put Joe Douglas’ new and improved roster to the test. The Jets play some of the best defensive teams from 2019, as well as both participants in Super Bowl LIV – the Chiefs and the 49ers. Every game on the docket is important for the Jets as they look to break their decade-long postseason drought, but the biggest matchups will be the ones that carry more meaning than just a win or a loss.
Here are the biggest storylines to emerge from the Jets’ schedule.
Week 1 vs. Buffalo
The Jets-Bills rivalry runs deep and Week 1 will be no different for a few reasons. Darnold is 2-1 in his career against the Bills and looks to continue his winning streak after beating Buffalo in Week 17 in 2019. Frank Gore, meanwhile, played for the Bills this past season and will square off against a bunch of former teammates.
But the most important aspect of this game is the ramifications on the AFC East race. Without Tom Brady on the Patriots, the division is up for grabs for the first time since 2000. Whichever team wins this matchup will have a jumpstart on the AFC East crown. The Bills upgraded their offense with the trade for Stefon Diggs, so it will be telling if they made the right moves to take over the division.
Week 5 vs. Arizona
We’ll call this one the Kliff Kingsbury game. The Jets had an interest in hiring Kingsbury, but he chose the Cardinals and the Jets hired Adam Gase instead. Though Gase finished with a better record than Kingsbury in 2019, Kingsbury’s offense ranked much higher than Gase’s Jets.
Now, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is entering his second season with an offense featuring DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and running back Kenyan Drake, who played for Gase during his three years in Miami. This game will be the ultimate showdown to prove which head coach was the better hire.
Week 9 vs. New England
This game is all about redemption for Darnold.
Although the Patriots don’t have Tom Brady anymore, they still boast one of the best defenses in the league – the same defense that scared Darnold straight in Week 6 of 2019 and forced him to turn the ball over five times. In another Monday night showdown, Darnold needs to prove to all the non-believers that his horrid showing last year was an abnormality.
While it doesn’t evoke the same fanfare past meetings have enjoyed, this game will also play a huge role in the divisional race.
Weeks 11 and 13 vs. Miami
The Jets were embarrassed by the Dolphins in Week 9 last year and barely escaped with a win in Week 14. Now, the Dolphins upgraded at several key positions like cornerback and offensive line and could be featuring fifth-overall pick Tua Tagovailoa by the time these two teams meet.
Between Gase’s return and Gore’s return and potentially another matchup with Ryan Fitzpatrick, this game has all the makings of another classic AFC East showdown. These two games bookend both teams’ bye week as well, something that hasn’t happened in an NFL season since 1991.
Week 14 vs. Seattle
The last time the Jets beat the Seahawks, Jerry Rice was catching passes from Matt Hasselbeck and Curtis Martin was ripping off long runs. The Jets are 1-3 against the Seahawks since 2004 and they haven’t won at Seattle since 1997.
Russell Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and the Seahawks will be a hard late-season test for the Jets. It’s also a pseudo-revenge game for George Fant, who played in Seattle for the first three years of his career before signing with the Jets.
Luckily, Joe Douglas managed to persuade the NFL to schedule this game as the first in their two-week West Coast road trip (they play the Rams in Week 15), much like he did for the Eagles in 2017, so the Jets could stay out there for the week.
Week 16 vs. Cleveland
For a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002, the Browns have given the Jets a lot of trouble recently. New York is 0-2 against Cleveland the past two years and is coming off an atrocious 23-3 loss on Monday Night Football in 2019 without Darnold. If the Jets are in the playoff hunt at the end of the season, this is a game they’ll have to win.
On a personal note, this will be another battle between Gregg Williams and Odell Beckham Jr. and Gase and Jarvis Landry. Beckham accused Williams of telling players to purposely injure him in 2017, while Landry lamented Gase’s coaching tactics during their time together in Miami.
