Jets' All-Time Record Against 2021 Opponents

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NY Jets schedule: All-time record against every 2021 opponent
By Adam Melendez
Jun 29, 2021, 4:30 PM EDT

While still a few months out from the 2021 NFL season, the moves that the NY Jets have made so far this offseason have fans optimistic for the first time in years.

The team has already seen its schedule released, allowing the Jets to begin forming the foundations of how to approach each contest.

This season, the Jets have the honor of facing the NFC South in four matchups — which was considered one of the best conferences in football during the 2020 season.

For now, we're going to put predictions aside — as that's a story for another article. Instead of looking forward, let's take a look back.

In 2021, the Jets will face three of the league's youngest franchises in the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans.

While new, the Jets have a history with every team in the league. That being said, here's how the team has stacked up against their 2021 opponents in the past.

Week 1: NY Jets @ Carolina Panthers
Week 1 is already set to be one of the biggest games of the year for the Jets. Matt Rhule was infamously set to be the next head coach of the team before talks fell apart. Now, new head coach Robert Saleh will face off against the man Gang Green wanted a few years back.

And of course, there's the former Jets in Sam Darnold and Robby Anderson who will make their appearance on the field as well.

The Panthers are actually the team that the Jets have played the least in their history, totaling just seven total matchups. Carolina sadly has claimed the higher ground in this time, winning four and losing three against New York.

Week 2: NY Jets vs. New England Patriots
On the opposite end of the spectrum comes the team that the Jets have played the most.

121 times, these conference rivals have lined up across from each other on the gridiron, with the Patriots unsurprisingly leading the series 67-53, thanks in no small part to a certain former Michigan quarterback.

Coming off of a sweep in the 2020 season, the Jets and the Patriots have vastly different teams. The New England Patriots went on a spending spree to revamp their struggling offense, while the Jets signed, drafted, and traded to help improve their team to help their struggling — well, everything.

Both teams drafted a first-round quarterback this season as well. The Jets claimed BYU standout Zach Wilson, while the Patriots drafted Heisman finalist and National Champion Mac Jones out of Alabama.

It's unclear who will be starting for New England at the quarterback position this early in the season, but Zach Wilson will surely look to chip away at that 14 game deficit the Jets currently possess.

Week 3: NY Jets @ Denver Broncos
From MetLife Stadium to the field with an ever-changing name. The Denver Broncos, six years removed from their last Super Bowl victory, have yet to return to the postseason ever since.

The Broncos and Jets have faced off 37 times, with Denver currently leading the series 20-16. As you may remember, the Jets and Broncos played last year, where the Jets' 37-28 defeat could have marked the beginning of the end for Sam Darnold.

Denver seems to be in an interesting position. They seem like they're only a quarterback away from competing in an offensively-stacked AFC West, yet passed on their chance to draft Justin Fields in the first round of this year's draft.

The Broncos did overhaul their defense, signing Kyle Fuller in free agency, as well as drafting Patrick Surtain II in the first round of the draft.

Needless to say, if Wilson and the Jets want to make the first step toward evening up this matchup, they will need to find a way to beat this stacked defense.

This matchup could be pivotal in getting the Jets season started on the right foot. A win here could do wonders for the rest of the season — but in terms of record, would even the series at four wins apiece.

 

Week 4: NY Jets vs. Tennessee Titans
Corey Davis will have the chance to get a bit of revenge on his former team early on in the season. The Jets will face off against the Titans for the first time since 2018.

In that game, New York blew a 16-point lead to lose 26-22 in what would eventually be Todd Bowles' final season as the team's head coach.

Historically, the Jets (again) claim the losing record in their all-time matchups. Of 44 total games, the Titans hold the series 24-19. Tennessee also lays claim to the victory of the lone playoff matchup between these two franchises, dating all the way back to the 1991 season.

The Titans are fresh off of back-to-back playoff appearances with Ryan Tannehill at the helm of their team. Both Tannehill and the Jets are free from the clutches of Adam Gase — so there is hope that New York may be able to follow in his footsteps to return to glory.

Week 5: NY Jets @ Atlanta Falcons (London)
Two franchises with a seemingly never-ending curse laid upon them will duke it out in London.

Both teams are rolling with new coaches heading into the 2021 season. Robert Saleh against Arthur Smith will be the first game of the season that Saleh takes on a first-year head coach.

Both franchises are also coming off franchise-altering trades, with Sam Darnold sent to Carolina and Julio Jones to Tennessee.

Another big surprise here — Atlanta leads the all-time series between them and the Jets, winning seven of the total 12 games played between both teams.

Stopping Atlanta's offense will prove to be a difficult task, even with Saleh now at the helm. This game seems like a must-win going into the team's bye week.

Week 8: NY Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Following a bye week, as well as the second matchup against the Patriots in Week 7, the Jets will be back in action on Halloween night against another rebuilding team in the Cincinnati Bengals.

Here's a not-so-spooky fact about this series — the Jets claim their first winning record all-time on the season, besting the Bengals 15 times to 10, as well as being 2-0 against Cincinnati in the playoffs.

Similar to Atlanta, both the Bengals and the Jets are more alike at the moment than some fans will realize or want to admit. Both have young quarterbacks, fresh wide receiver talent, and are desperately trying to right the ship that has been their offensive line woes.

Instead of closing the gap, the Jets will surely look to widen their margin all-time with this game.

Week 9: NY Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
As former division rivals, the Jets and Indianapolis Colts seem to have a bit of a lingering rivalry — although the scores of recent games don't exactly tell that story.

The two franchises have a long history with each other. From Mark Sanchez besting Peyton Manning in the 2010 playoffs, to Joe Namath's infamous "guarantee," these two will forever be linked.

Just on records alone, the Colts hold a huge lead over the Jets. Out of 71 games — the most out of any non-division opponent, the Colts also present New York with the great dishonor of handing them the most losses out of any foe outside of the AFC East, besting them 42-29.

In what might have been the most forgettable game of last season, the Jets fell to the Colts 36-7, with Sam Darnold having thrown three interceptions that day.

On the bright side, since 2010, the Jets lead the Colts 4-3. Hopefully they can add another tally to the win column.

Week 10: NY Jets vs. Buffalo Bills
If 2021 is similar to last season, the Buffalo Bills will be the toughest matchup that the Jets must face so far on the schedule. The second-best team in the AFC last year, the Bills haven't been kind historically to New York.

Division rivals since their inception, the Buffalo Bills hold a 64-56 record over the NY Jets. Coincidentally, they are also the team that the Jets have beaten the most over the course of their history.

Considering that the Bills are fresh off of an AFC Championship appearance, and the Jets are still amidst a rebuild, it might be safe to say that taking down the divisional rival just yet may prove to be a difficult task.

Week 11: NY Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
The last remaining rival in the AFC East, the Dolphins and Jets face off rather late in the season this year. Record-wise, the series is fairly even, as Miami is the one team within the AFC East that the Jets have a positive record against.

Through 110 games, the Jets lead 55-54, an extremely close rivalry that could easily be evened or see Miami take the lead if New York cannot compete with the up-and-coming team.

It seems that Miami was on the brink of being one of the best teams in the conference last year, falling just one game short of a playoff appearance.

The Jets don't seem to be at that level just yet. Though improvements have been made to the roster and personnel, they may still be a few years away from taking down Miami and adding a few more wins to the total.

However, if Tua Tagovailoa fails to take the next step, maybe it won't be such a far-off thought.

 

Week 12: NY Jets @ Houston Texans
If there was one team that really helped to take the negative spotlight off of the Jets last year, it was the dysfunctional Houston Texans. Everything from letting their star players walk, to the mess of a front office — and we won't even touch on Deshaun Watson.

The newest NFL team, the Jets are looking to build on their 5-3 record against Houston as they begin to enter the final stretch of the season.

On top of the mess that has been going on behind the scenes, the Texans had an up-and-down offseason. They failed to hire a highly sought-after coach but did have a bit of a spending spree by adding a plethora of free agents.

In a universe where Adam Gase is still the head coach of the Jets, this would have likely been one of the worst games on television that week — if not all season. However, thankfully reality wouldn't be that cruel to the fans.

At the end of Week 12, it's obvious that the Jets will look forward to doubling up on the Texans' record.

Week 13: NY Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Now for the most infamous of matchups this season.

In 11 meetings between the teams, the Jets have been able to snatch victory exactly zero times. They remain the only team in the NFL that New York has been unable to beat, even though they have come close a handful of times.

Courtesy of the league's expanded 18-week schedule, the Jets will have the chance to finally knock off a team that is just a handful of years removed from a Super Bowl victory.

A new coach, a new starting quarterback, and a new roster — the Eagles and the Jets seem to be in the same boat.

From the 30-0 blowout a few years back to the Brandon Marshall failed lateral in 2015, lots of stale memories come from facing the Eagles. Safe to say that fans want to finally put an end to this losing streak.

Week 14: NY Jets vs. New Orleans Saints
The last time that the Jets faced off against the New Orleans Saints, Todd Bowles was still the head coach, and Bryce Petty was starting at quarterback. Thankfully, Jets fans don't have to live in that walking nightmare any longer.

As expected, the Jets and Saints haven't matched up all that often, coming together 13 times with the Saints leading the Jets 7-6.

Another close battle between teams historically, the Saints will have their first battle against New York without Drew Brees since 2005, when Aaron Brooks was their signal-caller.

It seems that the Saints are content with their quarterback room, be it Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill under center come Week 14. It will be strange to see them line up without the future Hall of Famer Brees at quarterback, but it may help the Jets even the series at seven this season.

Week 16: NY Jets vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The matchup that the media is going to be salivating over. Trevor Lawrence vs. Zach Wilson. If by this point in the season both teams are decent and the rookie quarterbacks are performing well, this game could be must-watch TV.

All-time, the Jacksonville Jaguars currently hold the series lead 8-6, with the Jets taking the lone playoff win back in 1998 to a tune of 34-24.

As previously mentioned, this game could be huge for the future of the league. Trevor Lawrence was the most hyped-up quarterback in recent memory. If Jacksonville wasn't historically bad last season, it's likely Lawrence would have been suiting up in New York.

For the time being, it seems as though both teams are content with how things unraveled.

Week 17: NY Jets vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Jets end out-of-conference play against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Depending on how far the team has come by this point, this game could get messy. Tampa Bay retained all of their starters from 2020, and seem primed for another run at the title.

Between the two teams, the series hasn't even been close. The Jets have dominated Tampa Bay over their 12 matchups, winning 10 and falling to the Buccaneers just two times. They're currently the team that the Jets have their best winning percentage against.

Of course, this team is much different than the two they have faced in the last decade, fresh off of a convincing title run.

In total, the Jets have a combined record of 278-323. Obviously, it would be difficult for them to significantly chip into that deficit in just one season.

However, with how bright the future is for the Jets, a handful of wins this season could be all that fans are looking for after such a gloomy past.