Jets' Primetime Snub Could Work in Their Favor as Aaron Glenn Navigates Rebuild

The 2026 NFL schedule was officially unveiled on Thursday night. Jets fans got a first glimpse at who Aaron Glenn’s crew will be playing this upcoming season, with one aspect of the upcoming slate sticking out like a sore thumb.

Fans immediately noticed the abundance of 1 p.m. ET start times on the Jets' schedule, which isn’t out of the ordinary, given that New York is on the East Coast and plays in the AFC East. However, the Jets received zero primetime games, which was shocking, especially since they had two primetime games last season.

In fact, the Jets weren’t the only team hit with this distinguished honor. The other four teams that didn’t get a primetime game were the Titans, Raiders, Cardinals and Dolphins. What do all these teams have in common? They were the worst in the NFL last season.

Five NFL teams got zero primetime games:

- Jets
- Titans
- Raiders
- Cardinals
- Dolphins
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 14, 2026

While it would’ve been nice to see the Jets at least get a Thursday night game, it appears as if the league feels otherwise. And what makes it worse is that the Jets have only two 4 p.m. ET games, but none of them are during the national TV window at 4:25 p.m. ET.

For head coach Aaron Glenn, who is coming off a terrible 3-14 season in 2025, not having any primetime exposure could work in his and the team’s favor, which is crazy to think about, let alone say.

Aaron Glenn has a chance to change the narrative about himself and the Jets, despite a lack of primetime moments

The Jets are in the middle of a rebuild that fans hope will turn this franchise around and make it a future contender. New York took a good first step towards that goal with its most recent draft class, as it hopefully found multiple Day 1 starters who could become stars.

It would be nice to see those rookies get to showcase their talents on Monday, Sunday, or Thursday Night Football. But instead, they’ll be playing with everyone else across the country, and the attention might not be on the Jets, which is good, as Glenn develops these guys along with the culture of this club.

If the player development and culture change happen early in the season, it would help Glenn’s standing as head coach. After things went south in Year 1, there was a thought that he could be one-and-done, but the Jets stuck by him.

Aaron Glenn clapping. — Jets HC Aaron Glenn can buy himself a lot of time with a strong start to the season. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Now Glenn has to show the front office brass that they made the right decision, and with him not having to worry about the distractions of a primetime game in the background, the spotlight will not be huge on the Jets. Unless they have a 0-7 start like they did last year, and if that were to happen, Glenn and maybe even Geno Smith would be on the hot seat.

Looking at the Jets’ schedule for this season, it's not easy. They will face the NFC North and AFC West, two of the toughest divisions in football. In fact, three of the Jets’ first four games are against NFC North teams, and that stretch could tell us a lot about this team and Glenn.

If Glenn leads the Jets to a 2-1 record over the Packers, Lions, and Bears during that three-game window, the national conversation will pick up, despite New York not playing in primetime. However, if he falters, then the national convo will go the other way, asking if he’s the right man for the job.

Maybe the Jets get lucky, and one of their games gets flexed to primetime or into the 4:25 p.m. ET later in the season. But that would require them to win more than three games and push for a playoff spot.

Nonetheless, at the end of the day, Glenn’s job is to control what he can, and that’s making sure his guys are ready to play and win games on Sunday afternoons. If that happens, no one will care how many primetime games the Jets get or don’t.

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