New York Jets Headline SI 'Best Games' List

Gang Green's Week 3 divisional clash earned the No. 1 ranking from Conor Orr

It's not one of the New York Jets' six standalone games on the 2023 National Football League schedule, but Conor Orr put it atop his list.

The Sports Illustrated writer published his list of "The 10 Best Games on the 2023 NFL Schedule" and Gang Green's first of two meetings with the New England Patriots landed at No. 1.

Orr circled the Week 3 AFC East clash, which headlines a list that features the Eagles versus the 49ers, the Chiefs versus the Jaguars, and the Bills versus the Bengals.

The Jets have not defeated Bill Belichick's Patriots since Ryan Fitzpatrick engineered a 26-20 overtime victory on December 27, 2015 in the Meadowlands.

Gang Green (7-10) finished one game behind the Patriots (8-9) in the 2022 AFC East standings, but general manager Joe Douglas has done a lot of offseason work aimed at moving the Jets up the ladder.

With Aaron Rodgers arriving in New York, the Patriots' quarterbacks room slides down to the bottom of the AFC East hierarchy. The Jets totaled only 20 combined points in two one-score losses to the Pats in 2022. 

From "The 10 Best Games on the 2023 NFL Schedule":

1. Jets vs. Patriots: Week 3, Sept. 24

I think that, internally, the Jets view Patriots games as a bit of a litmus test for the legitimacy of a given campaign. Never mind Bill Belichick’s personal animus toward the franchise; he is always well prepared and knows his opponents intimately.

The Jets have not defeated the Patriots since 2015, a stunning seven-year losing streak that currently stands as the longest active losing streak by one team to a single opponent. Within those losses are some emotional haymakers, such as the Sam Darnold “seeing ghosts” game and the punchless affair in Foxborough last year that resulted in Zach Wilson’s seemingly eschewing responsibility for the offense’s performance (in reality, the situation was far more complicated and nuanced than that, and I think Wilson deserves some sympathy). The Darnold ghosts game was a 33–0 loss, and there are threeothers with greater margins of victory in that span.

So, the Jets would like nothing more than to heave that log off their chests and notch a victory against an opponent that has psychologically resided without rent in their collective headspace. Aaron Rodgers has faced the Patriots four times in his career, but only three while starting. In those three starts, his teams were 2–1, including a 27–24 win last October, with Rodgers throwing six touchdowns against one interception in those games. 

-Conor Orr

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After the Week 3 meeting at MetLife Stadium, Gang Green will not see the Patriots again until the Week 18 regular season finale. 

Here are the key takeaways from the Jets' 2023 schedule: READ - Five items that stand out on Gang Green's primetime-packed 17-game regular season slate.

▶️ Eagles-49ers
▶️ Chiefs-Jaguars
▶️ Jets-Patriots@ConorOrr shares his 10 favorite games on the 2023 NFL schedule https://t.co/08bb3gknpu

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 12, 2023

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