We knew the Jets were returning to London this fall for their third game sine 2021 (and their first ever “home” game on international soil). Now we know who and when they’ll be playing.
The Jets will be squaring off against the Broncos in a Week 6 matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 12.
It’s the first game on the Jets’ 2025 schedule to be revealed. The full NFL schedule is set to be released Wednesday night.
It’s the first time the Jets will be the designated home team for an International game. Still, the Jets will host eight games at MetLife Stadium in 2025, just like 2024, because this is one of the years they were scheduled to have nine home games: NFL teams have alternated seasons with nine home games and nine road games since 2021 when it went to a 17-game regular season schedule.
The only uncertainty remaining around the Jets’ latest international trip? If they’ll take their bye upon their return from London. The league gives teams an opportunity to take their bye after playing out of the country. But the team can also decline.
It seems like a trivial decision, but the 2024 season illustrated how impactful it could be.
Last year, the Jets declined their bye after their Week 5 game in London. It gave them a bye later in the season, which teams prefer. But it also opened up a less than desirable schedule situation: the NFL scheduled them for four games in 17 days, including three in primetime, after their return from London -- despite also giving the Jets three games in the first 10 days of the regular season.
The compressed schedule played a major role in the Jets’ season falling apart, and so did the Broncos; the Jets blew a fourth-quarter lead to fall to the Broncos in overtime at MetLife to fall to 2-2 before heading to London last year.
They fired coach Robert Saleh after falling to 2-3 in London, and then three of four games in the next 17 days to fall to 3-7, essentially putting their season on life support. They did not recover, and GM Joe Douglas was fired before Thanksgiving, clearing the way for the new regime.
New coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey will hope to have better luck overseas than the Saleh-Douglas regime. Of course, they won’t have to worry about playing as many primetime games. With Aaron Rodgers gone and expectations low for the Jets, it would be a surprise if they played more than one other standalone or primetime game outside of their London trip.
This will be the Jets’ fourth ever regular-season game in London, but they haven’t won there since their 2015 International debut against the Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. The Jets have gotten of to terrible starts in each of their games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, going on to lose against the Falcons in 2021 and the Vikings last year.
Under Saleh and Douglas the Jets departed for London on Thursday afternoon after practicing in Florham Park, and held a practice on Friday at their hotel about an hour outside the city.
It will be interesting to see if they change up the strategy under Glenn and Mougey.
This will be the first time the Jets have played games out of the country in back-to-back seasons. But the opponent is a familiar one, despite the Broncos playing in the AFC West.
Remarkably, this will be the eighth time in last nine years the Jets have faced the Broncos. The Jets are 3-4 against the Broncos during that stretch. The only season since 2017 they didn’t have a game against the Broncos? In 2019.
The rest of the Jets’ schedule will be revealed by Wednesday night. Here are their remaining home and away opponents.
HOME OPPONENTS
Week 6: Broncos (in London)
TBD: Cowboys, Panthers, alcons, Steelers, Browns, Dolphins, Patriots, Bills
AWAY OPPONENTS
TBD: Jaguars, Ravens, Saints, Bucs, Bengals, Dolphins, Patriots, Bills
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Andy Vasquez may be reached atavasquez@njadvancemedia.com.