What to Expect as New York Jets Finally Return Home, Host New England Patriots

The New York Jets will have just 72 hours to prepare for their home opener against the New England Patriots on Thursday.

Sep 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. (56) and linebacker Ernest Jones IV tackle New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) for a loss during the second half at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

If you ask NFL players what they hate, high on the list will be the short turnaround from a Sunday afternoon game to a Thursday night game.

At least the New York Jets are getting that quick turnaround of the way in Week 3. Thursday’s contest with the New England Patriots at Met Life Stadium will not only stand as their service to the NFL television contract but also as their home opener for the 2024 season.

The Jets (1-1), coming off a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, will likely play without edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, who left Sunday’s game with an Achilles injury. While the Jets haven’t announced it’s a tear officially, coach Robert Saleh said it looked like it was trending that direction.

Meanwhile, quarterback Aaron Rodgers led a game-winning drive for New York, ending with a Braelon Allen touchdown run.

Now, New York hopes to take that momentum into an short week game with the Patriots (1-1), who lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 23-20, in overtime.

Entering Week 3 the Buffalo Bills (2-0) are the only undefeated team in the AFC East.

Here is a preview of the Jets and Titans.

New England Patriots at New York Jets

Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.

Time, Day: 8:15 p.m., ET, Thursday

TV: Amazon Prime

Radio: 104.3 FM (flagship)

Records: Jets: 0-1; Patriots: 0-1.

Last week: New York Jets def. Tennessee, 24-17; New England lost to Seattle, 23-20 (OT).

Coaches: Jets — Robert Saleh (fourth year, 19-34 with Jets, 19-34 career); Patriots — Jerod Mayo (first year, 1-1 with Patriots, 1-1 career).

Fun fact: Naturally, the two franchises are charter members of the AFL, which formed in 1960. The Jets were originally the New York Titans while New England was originally the Boston Patriots. The Titans/Jets played their first season at the famed Polo Grounds. The Patriots played their first season at Boston University Field. Now Nickerson Field, it was previously the home to an MLB franchise, a USFL franchise and Boston University’s former football team.

All-Times Series: Patriots lead series 74-55-1

Last meeting: Jets def. Patriots, 17-3, (Jan. 7, 2024).

Series notes: Before the Jets won last year’s season finale, the Patriots had won the last 15 previous meetings. Thursday will be the first game between the Jets and the Patriots without Bill Belichick as a member of either organization since Dec. 10, 1995. At that time Belichick was head coach of the Cleveland Browns.  

About the Jets: All is right with The Jets, at least somewhat. New York has to feel good about pulling out a win on the road as Rodgers led the Jets on a game-winning drive in crunch time. It’s even better that the score came from a rather unlikely source in Allen, a rookie who became the youngest player to score an offensive touchdown since 1950.

New York’s offense looked better on Sunday, but it clearly still has a ways to go. The Jets’ defense forced two turnovers and their special teams unit forced a blocked punt, but it was still a close call.

The Jets now have to handle the possibility of being without up to three key defenders for Thursday's game. Johnson is almost certain to be out with the Achilles injury. But C.J. Mosley left during the game with a foot injury that New York hopes will allow him to play, while cornerback D.J. Reed missed the game with a knee injury. The latter two are names to monitor throughout this short week.

About the Patriots: Everything is brand new in New England, as Jerod Mayo — a former Patriots player and long-time assistant under Belichick — is in his first season as head coach. He’s the first non-Belichick head coach of the franchise since Pete Carroll in 1999. The 38-year-old has known the “Patriot Way” his entire pro career. He played nine years for Belichick. After he retired, he joined the Patriots as an inside linebackers coach in 2019 and replaced the future Hall-of-Famer after he left the job.

Mayo’s first significant decision was to name Jacoby Brissett the starting quarterback and not rush their first-round pick, Drake Maye. But, his approach to preparing Maye is already ruffling feathers. He revealed that Maye is getting about 30% of the team’s first-round reps during practice weeks and has made no secret of it. He said Brissett is handling it well.

Next Up: The Jets host Denver on Sept. 29. The Patriots will be at San Francisco on Sept. 29.