The time has finally come upon us, the 2015 schedule has officially been released. Just another mile marker on our way to the 2015 season, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet here is our schedule for the 2015 season.
(Image used from the official New York Jets Facebook page, all rights reserved)
My first initial thoughts on opening up against the Cleveland Browns (& hearing about it through leaks earlier in the day) to be honest? I was a little disappointed, I thought for sure that it was a lock that it’d either be the Jets opening up in the 1st game of the season against the New England Patriots or playing the Buffalo Bills in primetime. But I was wrong & now we’re opening up at home for the 5th consecutive year (since 2010). Which is great & by the looks of it (pre-draft) Cleveland looks like a tasty appetizer to open the season against.
Then this New York Jets squad will be tested early with a primetime game (one of three on the season) by appearing on Monday Night Football in week 2 to play the championship-caliber Indianapolis Colts. They’ve been re-tooled with veteran additions Frank Gore, Andre Johnson, & Trent Cole coming along for the ride. Which joins an already stacked unit talent wise, could this be the year Andrew Luck & the Colts make that quantum leap? Who knows for sure, but the New York Jets matched up well the last time they played Luck & the Colts. Winning handily 35-9 at home, Andrew Luck threw 2 interceptions & was sacked 4 times. Fast-forward 3 seasons & the Jets hope they can replicate that performance. It’ll be an exciting test for this team to calibrate how good they’re really going to be this season.
Then the New York Jets return home to see some familiar faces in Tim Tebow & Mark Sanchez, but now in Philadelphia Eagles uniforms. Who knows who is going to be the starting quarterback, because the rumor mills are going that Sam Bradford could be a trade chip for the Eagles. And even if he stays he’s been made of glass since his collegiate days back at Oklahoma so durability is an issue. This Eagles team was de-clawed in the offseason losing Jeremy Maclin to free agency, trading off veteran quarterback Nick Foles & LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy. Chip Kelly will be praised for being a genius or a moron, but his offense is always explosive. Playing the NFC East is going to be tough with the uncertainty of the teams in the division. But with a somewhat depleted secondary (excluding Byron Maxwell free-agent acquisition) whoever is playing quarterback for the New York Jets could have a field day in this one.
Well we knew about this one for the New York Jets per the NFL utilizing the international branding to get teams headed to London so the Jets were slotted into a Week 4 matchup with the Miami Dolphins back last year & following that they get their bye week. A little early for the bye week, but again the bye always comes after the London games if you end up playing in one. The entire AFC East improved this year (besides the Patriots who seem to have lost a lot of key pieces to their super bowl team). The Dolphins will provide a stingy defense with new addition Ndamukong Suh along with Cameron Wake & crew. But ultimately how it’ll come down for most of the teams in the AFC East it’s all about the quarterback. How Ryan Tannehill plays this season will determine how far this Dolphins team goes this year.
Coming off the bye the New York Jets continue their NFC East slated schedule against the Washington Redskins at home. RG3? Will he be able to stay healthy this season? Of course that’s the million dollar question if he can return to his former glory or is his best days behind him. It’s a really unfortunate situation because he showed such promise in that rookie season, & showed glimpses of a ‘pro bowl quarterback’. Okay I’m only kidding. A little. But seriously with the New York Jets coming off of the bye & with the extra preparation should fare well heading into the 2nd half of their season at this point.
Overview: The New York Jets have a favorable schedule, they rank around the middle of the league in strength of schedule. They only have back-to-back road games once this season, when they have to travel to New England then Oakland the following week. The scheduling gods looked upon the New York Jets & new Head Coach Todd Bowles with good favor this time around. But also it means the New York Jets only have back-to-back home games once this season with Jacksonville & the Patriots. Plus the thursday Night gem of the schedule everyone is looking forward to against the Buffalo Bills.
Which is a perfect segue into talking about the revenge game when Rex Ryan returns to Metlife to play his former team. Sparks are already flying in the offseason with this matchup: banter between Rex & Jace Amaro, the AFC East rivalry that was already there, & of course everyone is chasing the Patriots. This is going to be a juicy matchup in Week 10 of the NFL that looks like it’ll have major playoff implications for these 2 teams whether they’re battling at the top of the AFC East or battling for one of the 2 wild-card spots. Which sets up for the regular season finale when the New York Jets travel to play those same Bills in the final game of the regular season. Another game that could be win & you’re in scenario, just imagine that game & the atmosphere for that one!
Of course taking a glance at the rest of the schedule you’ve got the prime-time game against the Dallas Cowboys one December 19th on a Saturday night special, that’s a spicy one. Of course it’s now finally time for the battle for New York once again, the Jets vs the Giants. The Metlife bowl, the name changes, the players change, but the rivalry stays the same it’s bragging rights up for stake & it could be so much more on the line. Again we’re a week out from the NFL Draft, so the question looms who will be playing quarterback for the New York Jets when this game is played. Will it be incumbent starter Geno Smith? Ryan Fitzpatrick? Or perhaps a rookie? These mile markers are going faster every passing minute soon enough the NFL Draft will be here, then it’ll be training camp, OTA’s, & preseason, then finally we’ll be seeing those New York Jets opening up against those Cleveland Browns!
And lastly I saw this little tidbit scrolling through twitter so yeah there’s that:
The Jets face one team coming off a bye in 2015 - the Jaguars #nyj
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) April 22, 2015
