**The Second "Half"**
With eight home games, at least the Jets' MetLife schedule breaks cleanly in the middle. But they will need the first half above to get their feet firmly under them to prepare for this challenging second half. The four home games in the final 10 games of the season come against four teams that played above .500 last year, with three reaching the playoffs.
Buffalo is up first in Week 10. The Bills, too, have made a head coaching change, replacing Sean McDermott with O-coordinator Joe Brady. One suspects this will work out OK for Josh Allen, who remains one of most elusive, creative and productive QBs in the NFL, and James Cook, who led the No. 1 rushing offense. The Jets have won two of the last four at MetLife over the Bills but have dropped five in a row overall. Their growth, especially on defense, will be tested in this one.
Week 14 brings to North Jersey frequent non-division foe Denver. The Jets, after their Week 13 bye, again take on Bo Nix and the Broncos, who have stymied them in their last two meetings, a 10-9 Denver win at MetLife in '24 and last year's 13-11 conquest in London. This would be a good time for the offense to show its maturation with Geno Smith finding WR [Garrett Wilson](/team/players-roster/garrett-wilson/), RB [Breece Hall](/team/players-roster/breece-hall/) and the other promising additions to the O-side of the ball.
Weeks 16 and 17 package the final two home games of the season for the Jets and their fans. New England visits in Week 16 with QB Drake Maye triggering one of the NFL's best explosive-play passing games. Maye will have to work his magic without WR Stefon Diggs, released in March. The Jets' lone home win over the Pats since 2015 came by 24-3 early in '24. They need to find that team magic again against the Patriots, who went 14-3 last season.
Finally, the Vikings sail into East Rutherford. They're the one second-half visitor that didn't make the playoffs. But they did go 9-8, and they did bring in former Cards QB Kyler Murray to compete with '24 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy and connect with electric WR Justin Jefferson. How much the Green & White have improved in '26 will be revealed in these "final four" games in the friendly confines of MetLife.
**Jets' last 4 home foes, combined 2025 schedule strength: 45-19, .721**
**Jets' last 10 home and away foes, combined schedule strength: 88-65, .575**