The New York Jets enter their first AFC East game of the season still laboring under a long history of divisional struggles. The team has finished last in the division seven times over the past 10 seasons and owns a 13-47 record in divisional play, including a 4-26 mark on the road, according to the report.
The Jets (2-3) travel to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots (3-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson described the matchup as important, saying Wednesday, “I don’t know how to exactly put it, but it’s a big-ass game,” according to the report. New York arrives off a win in which the defense recorded eight sacks against the Cleveland Browns.
Since Wilson’s arrival in 2022, the Jets are 6-18 in division games. The report notes that the three most recent divisional victories came against backup or struggling quarterbacks: Miami’s Tyler Huntley (2024, Week 18), New England’s Jacoby Brissett (2024, Week 3) and New England’s Bailey Zappe (2023, Week 18). The Jets’ 2023 season-opening win over Buffalo came against Josh Allen, a game that was overshadowed by Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles injury, according to the report.
The team has trudged through extended skid periods, losing 15 straight AFC East games from 2020 to 2022 before snapping that run in the 2023 season finale. Garrett Wilson said he wants current rookies to understand the importance of divisional play: “To put yourself in the hunt, it’s how did you stack up with the teams you play twice a year?” he said, according to the report.
Coach Aaron Glenn, whose first season with the Jets included an 0-6 divisional mark, emphasized focusing on the present. “We really don’t focus on what happened in the past when it comes to us — we just focus on what’s happening right now — but, yes, division games are definitely crucial,” Glenn said, according to the report. A road win in Foxborough would carry added significance given the franchise’s lengthy history of losses at Gillette Stadium, the report added.
