Jets, Giants to combine for 11 prime-time games

New York football is back on the national stage. All it took was an unexpected playoff run by the Giants last year and the acquisition of a future Hall of Fame quarterback by the Jets this offseason.

On the backs of those two events the two teams will combine for 11 prime-time games in the 2023 regular season after the NFL released its schedule on Thursday night. That’s more appearances under the bright lights than any previous season in history and one shy of the most possible under league rules that limit teams to six such appearances.

The Jets, who have missed the postseason 12 consecutive years, had one prime time game each of the last two years and six total the past four years. But having added Aaron Rodgers, they will get the full slate of six this season.

Rodgers will make his Jets debut in the Monday Night Football opener against the Bills at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 11. The Bills have won the division the last three years and right away we will know if the acquisition of Rodgers has closed the gap between the two franchises.

The Jets’ next night game is Oct. 1 at home against NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and Super Bowl Champion Kansas City. It’s the Jets’ first Sunday night game since 2011. Their other prime-time games are Monday night, Nov. 6, at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday night Nov. 12 at Las Vegas, and Thursday night, Dec. 28, at Cleveland. They will also play in the previously announced Black Friday game on Nov. 24 versus Miami, a 3 p.m. kickoff at MetLife Stadium but considered a prime-time game in league parlance.

The Giants will open the season with three of their first four games in prime time. On Sept. 10, they open against Dallas at MetLife on Sunday night and then, after a Week 2 game at Arizona, will play a Thursday night game on Sept. 21 at San Francisco before hosting Seattle for an Oct 2 Monday night game. They will host the Packers on another Monday night game on Dec. 11, one week after their bye.

While the front of the Giants’ schedule catches the eye — besides being in the premier timeslots four of the first six games will be on the road and the Giants will not play their first Sunday afternoon home game until Oct. 22 — the back end is what could define their season. Two of their last three games are against the defending NFC champion Eagles. The Giants will play on Christmas Day for the first time in their history when they visit Philadelphia in Week 16 and then host the Eagles on Jan. 6 or 7. The Giants have lost 10 consecutive games at Lincoln Financial Field, their longest streak in one stadium in franchise history, and last year Philadelphia won both regular-season games and a lopsided NFC divisional playoff game within a seven-week span. The Giants travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on New Year’s Eve in between those critical division contests.

The Jets’ season ends with key games, too. They are in Miami on Dec. 17, they host the Commanders at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve, have that Thursday night game in Cleveland on Dec. 28, then close their regular season with Rodgers’ first visit to New England as a Jet on either Jan. 6 or 7.

Despite all the broadcasting fanfare aimed at the two local teams, the game they play against each other this season and the one that could generate a storm over bragging rights and possible playoff implications, will be played without much national hubbub. Technically a Giants home game at MetLife, it is scheduled for Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.