We already knew the Jets' 2019 opponents, but on Wednesday we found out the full schedule -- including a home opener against the Bills, three prime time games, and Le'Veon Bell's revenge game against the Steelers in Week 16.
Most pivotal stretch
The Jets play five games this season against teams who made the playoffs in 2018, and four of those games come in a row -- two on the road and two at home.
After opening the season at home with games against the Bills and Browns (who should be tough in their own right), the Jets travel to Foxborough to face the Patriots in Week 3. After the bye week, they travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles. They then come home to face the Cowboys in Week 6 and Patriots in Week 7, which also happens to be Monday night football.
This is an incredibly tough early test, and is one that could help make or break the Jets' season.
The homecoming (kind of)
Former Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. returns to MetLife Stadium with the Browns, but he'll be facing the Jets instead of the Giants. And while Beckham's return will dominate the headlines, the more interesting and better story here is Baker Mayfield making his Broadway debut.
And this isn't just Mayfield's debut in New York (New Jersey) in a game that matters -- it's a game pitting argubaly the two most exciting up and coming teams in the AFC against one another.
Intra-city battle
The Jets and Giants play every four years, and the 2019 version is late enough (Week 10) that it will have a ton of intrigue if both teams are still in the mix for playoff spots. That's likelier for the Jets than the Giants.
If the Giants (or Jets) are out of it by Week 10, the game will still feature a battle of young (Sam Darnold) vs. old (Eli Manning, in what will almost certainly be his final game ever against the Jets as a Giant), and a matchup of arguably the two best running backs in football -- Le'Veon Bell and Saquon Barkley.
Must-win games
1.) If the Jets want to be taken seriously -- and want to have a good chance to win the AFC East -- they will likely have to win one of their matchups against the Patriots -- Week 3 in Foxborough and Week 7 at MetLife Stadium.
2.) If it's Week 17 and the Jets' playoff hopes are alive and up in the air -- and that could happen, when you consider that their two games before that are against the Ravens and Steelers -- they'll have to take care of business against the Bills in Buffalo in the final game of the regular season.
The revenge game
Mentioned above is the Jets' Week 16 matchup against the Steelers at home.
This game will mean more for Bell than anyone else who is wearing green, but this could also be an enormous game in general -- with the Jets potentially looking to solidify their first trip to the playoffs since 2010.