Aaron Rodgers' Jets Debut Brings Primetime Matchup Against Josh Allen
Analysis 5/11/23
As if there wasn’t going to be enough hype about Aaron Rodgers’ debut for the New York Jets, it will get the Monday night spotlight during the NFL’s opening week in September.
That ESPN gets the first shot at Rodgers with Gang Green is bonus enough for the network. That it will come against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a very early key AFC East matchup is the whipped cream on the mondae, uh, sundae.
Thanks to the trade for the four-time league MVP, the Jets have gone from nearly taboo on national TV — their 12-season playoff drought is the NFL’s longest — to media darlings. They will be regulars in prime time throughout the 2023 schedule, including a Week 4 Sunday night home game against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The networks and the league obviously believe Rodgers is the missing ingredient to turn them into contenders.Â
It seems like the fan frenzy in the Big Apple has hit the schedule makers, too.
Of course, the Bills have owned the division for the past three years and are favorites to win it again. Despite being in one of the smallest media markets in pro sports, Buffalo has enhanced its national following and brand thanks to the excitement Allen, top receiver Stefon Diggs and an aggressive defense bring to the field. Perhaps there’s also some relief among football fans that a fresh set of faces has moved atop the AFC East.
And now comes the newest, if not-so-fresh, face in Rodgers. The AFC is loaded with elite quarterbacks, and this promises to be one of the most intriguing matchups in a season filled with them. Don’t forget that Rodgers also will face Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson. Â
Some caveats are required here, however.Â
- The Jets are 23-35 on Monday nights. Since their most recent postseason appearance, they have gone 4-9 on such occasions and didn’t play on Monday night the past two seasons.Â
- Buffalo has beaten New York in six of the past eight meetings.
- Rodgers has gone 12-8 on Monday nights, with his Packers winning the previous nine times they played on Monday. But Rodgers lost his first two and five of his first six Monday-nighters as he broke in as Green Bay’s starter. Now he is breaking in, albeit at age 39, as the Jets’ No. 1 quarterback.
Barry Wilner was a sportswriter for the Associated Press for 46 years. He has covered virtually every major sporting event, including 14 Olympics, 9 World Cups, 34 Super Bowls, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup Final, and has written 75 books. Follow him on Twitter @Wilner88