Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jets Seem Destined for 2023 Week 1 Primetime Game
New York Jets' fans could be waiting all day for a Sunday night in Week 1.
It's also possible Gang Green won't kick off the 2023 National Football League season until Monday night when Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the final game of opening week.
According to longtime NFL columnist Peter King, the Jets are a prime candidate for a season-opening primetime television slot. He tackled the idea in the "10 Things I Think" section of the May 1 installment of "Football Morning In America."
"As for the other biggies, the three primetime games in week one ... I think, and this is based only on logic, that Aaron Rodgers and the Jets will play Sunday night on NBC or Monday night on ESPN, but I can’t tell you the opponent," wrote King.
Back in March, shortly after Rodgers announced his intention to play for the Jets on the Pat McAfee Show, King floated the possibility of Gang Green facing the Philadelphia Eagles or Buffalo Bills in a Week 1 standalone game.
"I’d bet the Jets will appear in either the Sunday or Monday prime-time opener. The league loves Aaron Rodgers. The league will try to capitalize on the fascination of Rodgers changing teams to have a ratings bonanza in week one. My money’s on NBC getting, say, Jets-Eagles or Jets-Bills on the opening Sunday night," said King in "FMIA" on March 20.
The Jets have not appeared on Sunday Night Football, which is usually the highest-rated television slot of the NFL weekly schedule, since the 2011 season.
The addition of Rodgers practically guarantees the SNF drought will end in 2023. With television executives operating under the belief that high-profile quarterbacks will draw large ratings, it's likely the Jets and their future Hall-of-Fame signal caller will receive the maximum number of standalone primetime exposures (5) allotted by the NFL.
Beyond the Week 1 primetime possibility, King offered a multitude of thoughts and information on Rodgers and Gang Green in the latest "FMIA." The letters J-E-T appear 18 times throughout the longform article. Read it all here.
READ MORE:
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Peter King Sees Plenty of Primetime Matchups in Jets' Future
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SI's NFL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the 2023 Draft
Albert Breer Highlights 'Good Sign' for Rodgers and Jets
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