The old saying goes “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” But a poor start to the season doesn’t set a great tone and could lead to a finish that you won’t be happy with.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine took a look at a few teams that could be looking at a tough start to their 2022 season. And lo and behold, there are the New York Jets.
As you might expect, two key factors in this decision are the likelihood of Joe Flacco starting a game or two at quarterback and that the first four games for the Jets are against the four teams in the AFC North, which is always a tough division and should be the same in 2022.
New York Jets fans have a lot to be excited about after the 2022 offseason. The start to the 2022 season is not one of them.
The Jets made three first-round selections and made several key free agent signings. They appear to be headed in the right direction under Robert Saleh.
However, they could very well be starting 37-year-old Joe Flacco at quarterback. Earlier this offseason Saleh said that he felt Flacco was still a starting-caliber quarterback in the league.
Now, he’ll may get a chance to prove it. Zach Wilson suffered a knee injury in the preseason and Jets still haven’t announced if he’ll be back in time to start.
That leaves the Jets with the choice of a hobbled Wilson coming back from an injury or the aged Flacco, who is 2-11 over his last 13 starts.
The Jets first four games come against AFC North opponents. The Bengals are coming off a Super Bowl appearance. The Ravens looked like one of the best teams in the league last season before Lamar Jackson got hurt. The Steelers and Browns have elite pass-rushers and solid defenses even if they have questions on offense.
In other words, the Jets are preparing for a strong schedule to kick off the season and are still unsettled at quarterback. Prepare for more growing pains.
This is exactly what the Jets are hoping to avoid. They have pretty good expectations and a poor start will ruin some of those expectations. That’s why it is very important that they come out very strong in Week 1 against the Ravens.
If it makes Jets fans feel any better, one of the other teams Ballentine listed in his article was the New England Patriots, who also have the Steelers and Ravens among their first four games, as well as the Dolphins and the Packers, both on the road. A reminder that the first Jets-Patriots matchup this season is on October 30 at MetLife.
