NY Jets Schedule Rumors: Jets to play Patriots on Sunday Night Football

The NY Jets schedule for the 2022 season will officially be released later tonight, but the rumor making its way around NFL Twitter indicates the team could have quite the exciting Week 1 matchup.

A rumor (mind you, a completely unfounded rumor at that) was posted on Twitter this week suggesting that the Jets will face their division rivals, the New England Patriots, on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.

Now, this would come as quite a surprise. The Jets haven't played a Sunday Night Football game since Week 10 of the 2011 season, a game in which they lost 37-16 to the New England Patriots.

Over a decade later, some believe the Jets might have the opportunity for revenge — at home no less. Don't hold your breath, though.

It seems unlikely the NY Jets will open the season against the Patriots in primetime

Despite this rumor circulating, it's hard to believe the NFL would want the Jets to play the first Sunday Night Football game of the entire season, especially considering they haven't played one in over a decade.

Yes, the Jets/Patriots rivalry is always a fun one, and the Jets' most recent primetime games have primarily come against their hated division rivals, but this seems like a stretch.

Still, it's fun to imagine what such a game might look like.

Under the bright lights of MetLife Stadium, Zach Wilson and the Jets would play host to Mac Jones and the Patriots. It would be a battle of two second-year quarterbacks looking to reignite a rivalry that has been one-sided for far too long.

The Jets haven't even won a division game since 2019. They haven't beaten the Patriots since that memorable overtime victory back in 2015. The redemption arch writes itself.

The pressure would be on Wilson and this new-look Jets roster to prove that their offseason of success can translate into wins on the field. Not just any wins, but wins over hated division rivals who have tormented them for decades.

The possibility for a storybook triumph is there, but would the NFL really risk putting this matchup on Sunday Night Football in Week 1? I wouldn't count on it.

We won't officially know the Jets' Week 1 opponent until later tonight, but I'd suggest not getting your hopes up about a Sunday Night Football slot. Rumors will be rumors.