A Look at Jets 2016 Schedule

The New York Jets have made some splashes this offseason in free agency. Signing Matt Forte, giving Muhammad Wilkerson a long term contract, and finally coming to an agreement with Ryan Fitzpatrick for this season are all moves that will help the team. After these moves, where will the Jets be this season?

Well they will certainly be competitive. But it is no secret by now that they have a really tough schedule. The Jets have six road games in the first nine weeks. But, that also means five of their final seven games are at home.

The stretch that really concerns me is the first six games which is as follows: vs Bengals, @ Bills, @ Chiefs, vs Seahawks, @ Steelers, @ Cardinals. Out of these six games, I can see the Jets start off the season with a 2-4 record. A 3-3 record would be best case scenario. The Chiefs, Seahawks, Steelers, and Cardinals are all really tough games. The Jets might lose all four. Beating the Bills in Buffalo in week two is a challenge as well. The Bengals are also not an easy game. But the Jets will not go 0-6 to start the season. I’d be surprised if they don’t get at least two wins.

Even if they do start off 2-4, the Jets can absolutely compete for 10 wins. After that six game stretch, the Jets play teams like the Ravens, Browns, Rams, Colts, and 49ers along with the Patriots twice, Dolphins twice, and the Bills at home. All of those non-divisional games are winnable. If they go 4-1 in the non-divisional games and 3-2 in the remaining divisional games, that puts the Jets at a 9-7 record. 10 wins would not surprise me either.

I think it is completely fair to have a ton of confidence in the offense this year. It is essentially the same offense from last year but instead of Chris Ivory, it is Matt Forte. Things will be a lot smoother this year since all of the offensive players have a year under their belt of Todd Bowles so the system should be a little smoother. And despite losing Damon Harrison to the Giants, the defense should still be one of the best in the NFL.

Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports Radio said on the air that the Jets are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but the Jets are easily playoff contenders and I think they will make the playoffs despite a tough schedule to start the season. Like last year, the Jets will surprise a lot of people this year.