Throughout the offseason, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Ethan Greenberg, Randy Lange and Caroline Hendershot will each give their predictions to a series of questions regarding this year's Jets.
Today's question: How many games will the Jets win in the 2023 season?
EA: I think the Jets' floor is 9 wins and the ceiling is 14 victories. Barring catastrophic injury, the likely landing spot is between 10 and 13. The Jets have one of the NFL's top rosters and they'll have a revved-up Aaron Rodgers ready to make his mark. An NFL early-season surprise in 2022, the Jets won't be sneaking up on anybody this season as expectations have changed. If you review the Jets' first 11 matchups before December, all those games could be one-possession affairs. The Jets will be expected to beat the Patriots at home in Week 4, but New England has won the past 14 head-to-head meetings in the regular season. As of now, the Jets are slight underdogs in three of their first four games (vs. Buffalo, at Dallas, vs. Kansas City). There are a lot of good teams and most of them are in the AFC. After a three-game win improvement in 2022, I'll give the Jets a five-game win jump in the 2023 season and I see them finishing 12-5. I won't be surprised if the division title comes down to tiebreakers.
EG: Assuming the injury bug doesn't bite hard, I think you're looking at double-digit wins. The Jets have a difficult schedule and play in one of the NFL's most-challenging divisions. With the addition of QB Aaron Rodgers aside, the 2023 Jets are an improved group from 2022. With Rodgers, expectations heighten. He led the Packers team to 13 wins in three consecutive seasons (2019-21) before an 8-9 record last season while playing through a thumb injury. The first half of the Green & White's schedule is a bear, but the Jets have the talent to be a contender with superstars and superstar potential on offense and defense in Rodgers, WR Garrett Wilson, DT Quinnen Williams and CB Sauce Gardner.
See the top images of the Jets during the 2023 offseason program.
RL: I'm only going to say double-digit victories for the Jets in '23. Ten-plus wins would mark a steady improvement from 2 wins in 2020 to four in Robert Saleh's first season at the helm to 7 last season. And what would 10-plus wins mean? In all likelihood, the team's first postseason berth since 2010. Consider that in the first two seasons of 17-game schedules, teams reached 10 or more wins 21 times, and all 21 qualified for the playoffs. Now, is the Jets' schedule potentially difficult? Yes. Will the pressure of the NFL's national spotlight be on the Green & White all season? Yes. But is Aaron Rodgers in the house? Yes. And will the Saleh "All Gas No Brake" Jets keep making progress? Yes.
CH: I think the Jets will win 11 games. The first half of the schedule before the bye week is going to be a challenge facing the Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs, and going on the road to Dallas. The thing that I am keeping my eye on is the four short weeks that the Jets will encounter. The opening week on "Monday Night Football" against the Bills to playing in Dallas on the following Sunday will be hard. In November, playing the Chargers at home on "MNF" and then flying to Las Vegas to play the Raiders the next Sunday. A difficult stretch begins in Week 16 when the Jets play the Commanders at home on Christmas Eve then play the Browns in Cleveland on "Thursday Night Football." It's late in the season, around the holidays, and lots of travel included. I expect the Jets will thrive under the pressure of 8 road games and 6 primetime games this season.
