QB Zach Wilson, LB C.J. Mosley and the Jets have a chance to get their 2022 regular-season schedule off and flying when they host the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 11 in their season and home opener (1 p.m. on CBS).
The Jets have suffered some bumps over the past 25 seasons when running into Baltimore, and one of those bumps was their 10-9 loss in the 2010 season opener on Monday Night Football, in the Green & White's first regular-season game in their new home, then called New Meadowlands Stadium.
But head coach Robert Saleh's rebuilding plan has a chance to smooth out those bumps with a debut of his year two roster at home against the Ravens, whom the NFL announced as the Jets' opening-day opponent along with releasing all teams' openers two hours ahead of Thursday night's full-schedule reveal on NFL Network.
Yes, the Ravens have Lamar Jackson at quarterback, they're always tough, and they want to right their own ship after going 8-9 last season, much of that due to injuries, and missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
But the Jets have some new weapons to level the playing field, if not tip it in their favor. They will chase Jackson around the MetLife pitch with a rejuvenated pass rush expected to feature Carl Lawson, in his first game as a Jet after missing all last season with an Achilles injury, plus rookie edge rushers Jermaine Johnson and Micheal Clemons as well as returning inside veterans Quinnen Williams and John Franklin-Myers.
And of course there's Mosley, the veteran on- and off-field leader of the Jets' defensive unit, who earned four Pro Bowl berths in his first five seasons in the NFL, all spent playing ILB for Baltimore.
On the other side of the ball, Wilson would love to fire out of the gate in his second season-opening start for the Jets, and he'll be turning to a number of new and old offensive weapons to do that — WRs Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Braxton Berrios and first-round rookie Garrett Wilson, veteran free-agent TEs C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin plus draft pick Jeremy Ruckert, and a running back group that returns Jets leading rusher Michael Carter, veteran backs Tevin Coleman and Ty Johnson, and second-round draft pick Breece Hall.
The Jets have two wins over the Ravens all-time, both at home. Interestingly, those came against two quarterbacks who soon after become Jets QBs. In the teams' first meeting in 1997, they outlasted Vinny Testaverde and the visiting Ravens 19-16 in overtime. And in 2016, the Green & White came back from a halftime deficit for a 24-16 win over the Birds, QB'd that year by Joe Flacco, who now serves as Wilson's backup on the current Jets.
The only time the Jets opened a season against Baltimore was that 2010 home game. They also lost to the Ravens in their 1998 home opener, Game 2 on that schedule, by 24-10. Yet they rebounded from both those games to go deep into the AFC playoffs. No guarantees for '22 of course.
Also, this will be the third season opener at home on Sept. 11 since the terror attacks in 2001. The Jets posted their stunning 27-24 comeback win over Dallas in the '11 Sunday night opener, but lost five years later to Cincinnati by 23-22.
The rest of the Jets' 2022 schedule will be revealed along with all 31 other teams' schedules later Thursday evening.
