No team has received more media attention this offseason than the New York Jets. The Jets have even received more love than the Dallas Cowboys, which is nearly impossible to do. This is all because Gang Green traded for Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets have not made the postseason since 2011, which is the longest active postseason drought within the United States' four major professional sports leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA). NY is currently tied for the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl. Seriously?
The hype is incredibly unwarranted. The Jets had a significantly better roster than the Giants a season ago and won three fewer games. History tends to repeat itself. Here are three reasons why the New York Giants will be better than the New York Jets in 2023:
3. The Giants have an easier schedule than the Jets
The Giants have a better chance to win Super Bowl LVIII than the New York Jets. That is just a fact. The Giants roster is clearly not as good as the Jets roster, but the AFC is much deeper and more difficult than the NFC. The Jets have an incredibly tough path.
The Jets have the seventh-hardest schedule in 2023 according to Sharp Football Analysis, which bases strength of schedule on 2023 win probability, and not 2022 record. In contrast, the Giants have the 14th hardest schedule in 2023.
The Jets play in the AFC East, the NFL's toughest division. The Bills and Dolphins are both Super Bowl contenders while the worst team in the AFC East, at least on paper, the New England Patriots, have beaten the Jets 14 times in a row.
If the Jets make the playoffs, they will have to go through three of Kansas City, LA Chargers, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Miami, and Baltimore to make the Super Bowl. Those teams respective quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and Lamar Jackson are all upper-echelon NFL QBs.
In contrast, there are only two mammoths in the NFC, the Eagles who lost some key pieces this offseason, and the 49ers, who have quarterback uncertainties.
2. Aaron Rodgers has taken a step back
Rodgers was the NFL's MVP in the 2020 and 2021. In 2022, he looked like a completely different quarterback than the previous two seasons. Rodgers posted the NFL's 26th-best QBR, a dreadful 39.3 mark. Jacoby Brissett, Marcus Mariota, Derek Carr, Justin Fields, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kenny Pickett, Andy Dalton, and a washed Matt Ryan all posted better QBRs than Rodgers.
Rodgers threw 12 interceptions in 2022, the second most in his career. Rodgers 91.1 passer rating last fall was the worst of his career and his completion percentage was the fourth worst of his career. The future Hall of Famer's touchdown pass amount has plummeted each of the past three seasons. He threw 48 in 2020, 37 in 2021, and then just 26 in 2022.
Some of that 2022 drop off has to do with adjusting to life without Davante Adams, but Rodgers is 39, so it's fair to wonder if he is falling off that proverbial cliff.
Meanwhile, Daniel Jones posted career-best marks in virtually every offensive category in 2022 and can provide something Rodgers cannot: athleticism. Quarterbacks who can run the ball strike extra fear into opposing defensive coordinators. Rodgers does not have that ability and is strictly a statue pocket passer.
1. It's the New York Jets
The Jets have been the laughingstock of the NFL for the majority of their existence. The Giants have been viewed as one of the NFL's prominent franchises. Big Blue has a .528 franchise winning percentage while the Jets have a .440 franchise winning percentage. The Giants have four Super Bowls, the Jets have just one Super Bowl.
Generally, everything that could go wrong, does go wrong for the New York Jets. Don't forget, the Jets coaching staff is led by Robert Saleh, who the jury is very much still out on, and Nathaniel Hackett, who was just fired as Denver Broncos head coach 15 games into his tenure after a disastrous season.
The Giants are led by Brian Daboll, the reigning Coach of the Year. The G-Men have a future head coach and former Andy Reid lieutenant, Mike Kafka, running the offense. They also have one of the greatest defensive minds in the NFL, Wink Martindale, running the defense.
The Jets ownership group, the Johnson Family, is viewed as one of the worst owners in professional sports, while the Mara Family is viewed as one of the best (though the Mara's reputation took a major hit over the past decade).
Rodgers was recently at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert at MetLife Stadium, and created the cringest moment of the NFL offseason, mock celebrating a Jets Super Bowl win.
Aaron Rodgers as confetti fell at Taylor Swift's MetLife Stadium concert:
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) May 30, 2023
"The Jets won the Super Bowl!" 😅
(via @OptimisticJets) pic.twitter.com/FzE3jiplBh
I am all for having fun, but comments like the one Rodgers made can only backfire. The legendary quarterback just gave the football world one of the funniest memes imaginable if his New York tenure does not go as planned... and we don't think it will.
READ MORE: Aaron Rodgers just made his first big mistake at MetLife Stadium