Aaron Glenn gets dealt brutal start to Jets career with tough first eight games

The NY Jets are hoping to turn over a new leaf after parting ways with Aaron Rodgers, Robert Saleh, and Joe Douglas following the 2024 season. The hope is that a new way of operating, spearheaded by Aaron Glenn as head coach and Darren Mougey as GM, should help this team turn over a new leaf.

Optimism is all well and good, but that faith will be tested with a tough start to proceedings.

The Jets will begin the season with a Week 1 duel against (in all likelihood) Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and things don't get easier with a matchup against the Buffalo Bills immediately after it. Before the team's Week 9 bye, New York will face two playoff teams from last year in the Buccaneers and Broncos, Joe Burrow's Bengals, and Dak Prescott's Cowboys.

The only game in which the Jets will likely be favored is a Week 7 matchup at home against the Carolina Panthers. Outside of that, Glenn needs to figure out a way to get some upsets piled up as soon as possible to prevent the season from slipping away from them before they collect themselves.

Aaron Glenn, Jets handed tough start to 2025 season

The Jets' schedule, which ranks 26th in overall strength, eases up near the end of the season. The Baltimore Ravens are the only non-AFC East team that made the playoffs whom the Jets play after the bye. The team's second matchup with the Bills comes in Week 18, which could be a time where Buffalo is resting starters.

However, Glenn will need to pick up some wins in the early going to avoid a repeat of the 2020 season. The Jets started that year 1-8 under Adam Gase, though their 7-9 finish to that season didn't set a foundation for success in 2021 and cost the Jets valuable draft position.

While the Jets may be all-in on Glenn's ability to motivate a locker room, a fanbase that hasn't seen their team even make it to the postseason once since 2010 has to be fed up with the constant talk of rebuilding. A slow start might turn parts of the fanbase against him.

However, if Glenn's decision to bet on quarterback Justin Fields ends up as a jackpot, the Jets could step on the gas and reel off some big upsets. In a year after watching the Commanders go from the No. 2 pick to the NFC Championship Game, anything is possible for the Jets.