Getty New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
Whether you like it or not, the New York Jets are going to be heavily featured in prime time.
Gang Green has six of them in total on the initial 2024 schedule with a pair of Thursday Night Football games, a pair of Monday Night Football games, and a pair of Sunday Night Football games.
Sauce Gardner was asked about the massive national spotlight on his team during a sit-down interview with Jets reporter Caroline Hendershot.
“We always ready,” Gardner told Hendershot. “We always going to be ourselves, we are always going to have the same identity, we are not going to change anything just because it’s prime time. It’s great to be able to have those prime-time games. A lot of people are expecting a lot out of us, we expect a lot out of ourselves. It’s prime time everybody is going to be watching so we love to have those types of games. I love to have those types of games. It’s going to be competitive and I’m a competitor.”
It sounds like #Jets CB @iamSauceGardner wants ALL THE SMOKE in 2024 with 6 prime time games on the schedule.
‘It’s great to be able to have those prime time games. A lot of people are expecting a lot out of us, we expect a lot out of ourselves.’
‘It’s prime time everybody is… pic.twitter.com/Ud8GbtLUzZ
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) May 17, 2024
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Jets Are Expected to Live up to the Expectations in 2024
The green and white haven’t had a double-digit win season since 2015. New York hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2010 calendar season.
Although 2024 is a new opportunity to make some noise.
NFL Network Analytics Expert Cynthia Frelund revealed her win projections for each of the 32 teams in the NFL after the schedule came out.
“Using the projected 53-man rosters as of May 14, I ran 150,000 simulations for all 272 regular-season games,” she explained.
For the Jets, she projected them to win 9.6 games. That rounded-up total is the same projection for two other AFC East foes: the Miami Dolphins (10.2) and the Buffalo Bills (10).
She has the Jets just squeaking into the final playoff spot in the AFC conference as the No. 7 seed.
Gardner Has One Game Circled on the 2024 Jets Schedule
Hendershot asked Gardner if there was any game in particular that he was especially looking forward to. Sauce immediately said the Houston Texans.
He called them an “elite team” and someone who is loaded on both sides of the ball. Gardner will have a reunion with former Bills wideout Stefon Diggs who was traded to Houston this offseason.
BUCKLE UP @Djbienaime !@cghendy asked @iamSauceGardner if there’s a game on the #Jets schedule that he’s most excited for? Sauce immediately said the #Texans.
He said they have an ‘elite team’ + name dropped Stefon Diggs & threw a lot of flowers at CJ Stroud, ‘I always knew… pic.twitter.com/rMyJPesLwN
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) May 17, 2024
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The NFL changed its rules last season allowing teams to play multiple Thursday Night Football games in the same season. They took full advantage of that by scheduling the Jets twice with the Week 3 home opener versus the New England Patriots and hosting the Texans on Halloween night in Week 9.