The 2023 season was the New York Jets' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 64th overall, their fifth under general manager Joe Douglas and their third and final full season under head coach Robert Saleh. The season, which was entered with Super Bowl aspirations, was a major disappointment for the team, finishing at 7–10 for the second consecutive season, and matching their record from 2022. It was also the Jets' fourth consecutive season with at least ten losses.
With the acquisition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers in an offseason trade with the Green Bay Packers, expectations were high. However, the season was marred by a series of key injuries, most notably Rodgers suffering a season-ending torn Achilles tendon just four snaps into Week 1. The team struggled with inconsistent quarterback play from Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle throughout the season. Despite starting 4–3, which included their first-ever win against the Philadelphia Eagles after 12 previous losses, the Jets went on a five-game losing streak. They finished the season with a 7–10 record after going 3–2 in their final five games. As a result, the Jets missed the playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive season, extending the longest active postseason drought in the NFL. It was also their eighth consecutive season finishing below .500. The team's preseason was featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks.
The New York Jets drew an average home attendance of 77,890 in 9 home games in the 2023 NFL season.
Draft
+ 2023 New York Jets draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 13 Traded to the Green Bay Packers 15 Will McDonald IV LB Iowa State From Packers 2 42 Traded to the Green Bay Packers From Browns 43 Joe Tippmann C Wisconsin 3 74 Traded to the Cleveland Browns 4 112 Traded to the New England Patriots 120 Carter Warren OT Pittsburgh From Steelers via Patriots 5 143 Israel Abanikanda RB Pittsburgh 170 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders From Packers 6 184 Zaire Barnes LB Western Michigan From Raiders via Patriots 185 Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars 204 Jarrick Bernard-Converse CB LSU From Cowboys via Raiders 207 Traded to the Green Bay Packers From Texans 7 220 Zack Kuntz TE Old Dominion From Cardinals via Raiders 230 Traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
+ 2023 New York Jets undrafted free agents Position Player College DE Deslin Alexandre Pittsburgh WR Jason Brownlee Southern Miss LB Claudin Cherelus Alcorn State S Trey Dean Florida RB Travis Dye USC WR Xavier Gipson Stephen F. Austin LB Maalik Hall Southeastern Oklahoma State TE E. J. Jenkins Georgia Tech LB Caleb Johnson Miami WR Jerome Kapp Kutztown G Brent Laing Minnesota Duluth CB Derrick Langford Washington State WR T. J. Luther Gardner–Webb CB Nehemiah Shelton San Jose State S Marquis Waters Texas Tech
Draft trades
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF Cleveland Browns L 16–21 0–1 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 at Carolina Panthers W 27–0 1–1 Bank of America Stadium Recap 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–13 1–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 3 at New York Giants W 32–24 2–2 MetLife Stadium Recap
Regular season The Jets became the second NFL team to play ten regular season games in their home stadium, nine home games as an AFC team in an odd-numbered year plus an away game against the Giants, who share their stadium with the Jets. The first such team was the Los Angeles Rams, who played ten games the previous season at SoFi Stadium under similar circumstances.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Buffalo Bills W 22–16 1–0 MetLife Stadium Recap 2 September 17 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–30 1–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 3 September 24 New England Patriots L 10–15 1–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 4 October 1 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–23 1–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 5 October 8 at Denver Broncos W 31–21 2–3 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 6 October 15 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–14 3–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 7Bye 8 October 29 at New York Giants W 13–10 4–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 9 Los Angeles Chargers L 6–27 4–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 10 November 12 at Las Vegas Raiders L 12–16 4–5 Allegiant Stadium Recap 11 November 19 at Buffalo Bills L 6–32 4–6 Highmark Stadium Recap 12 November 24 Miami Dolphins L 13–34 4–7 MetLife Stadium Recap 13 December 3 Atlanta Falcons L 8–13 4–8 MetLife Stadium Recap 14 December 10 Houston Texans W 30–6 5–8 MetLife Stadium Recap 15 December 17 at Miami Dolphins L 0–30 5–9 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 16 December 24 Washington Commanders W 30–28 6–9 MetLife Stadium Recap 17 at Cleveland Browns L 20–37 6–10 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 18 January 7 at New England Patriots W 17–3 7–10 Gillette Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Buffalo Bills
Just hours before kickoff, there was heavy rain and severe thunderstorm warnings around the Meadowlands. As a result, media coverage and personnel were not permitted to step on the field.Fans Attending Jets-Bills Game Issued A Shelter In Place Warning Ahead of Kick-Off, Sports Illustrated, September 11, 2023 It was rumored that the game would have been delayed, or postponed given the severity of the weather warnings. The game, nevertheless, ended up being played on time.
New quarterback Aaron Rodgers was injured and carted off the field after being sacked by Bills edge rusher Leonard Floyd on just his fourth snap, and Buffalo attained a 13–3 halftime lead.Buffalo Bills lose opener to NY Jets 22–16 in OT after a stinker from Josh Allen, Syracuse.com, September 12, 2023 However, a strong performance by the Jets defense, which forced Bills quarterback Josh Allen to turn the ball over four times, allowed the Jets offense, now led by backup Zach Wilson, to have short fields and take the lead after the two-minute warning, though Allen and the Bills forced overtime with a late field goal. The Jets won off a punt return touchdown by Xavier Gipson after the Bills went three-and-out on the opening possession of the extra period.
With the win, New York opened the season at 1–0, though the victory was marred by Rodgers' injury, which was revealed to be a ruptured Achilles tendon, ending his season. Head coach Robert Saleh named Wilson the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
The game broke the record for the most-watched NFL game in ESPN's history, though that was later overtaken by the Philadelphia Eagles–Kansas City Chiefs game on November 20.
Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys opened the game with a long 12-play touchdown drive, ending with Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott's first touchdown pass of the 2023 season to tight end Jake Ferguson. Dallas later added to their lead with a 13-play, 75-yard field goal drive in the 2nd quarter. After the teams traded punts, the New York Jets fought back with a quick 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Wilson to standout wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Dallas quickly responded with a long touchdown drive of their own, which was capped off with a short Dak Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Luke Schoonmaker. The Jets replied with a field goal from backup kicker Austin Seibert to keep the score within one possession at the end of the half.
The third quarter, however, would prove to be the turning point in the game as the Jets were only able to muster a measly 68 yards of offense in the second half while also giving up a fumble and three interceptions. On the other hand, the Dallas Cowboys were able to produce four field goal drives to end the game with a 30–10 victory.
This was the first time the Cowboys defeated the New York Jets since 2007 and is also the first time the New York Jets defense has given up 30 or more points since Week 2 of the 2022 NFL Season.
Week 3: vs. New England Patriots
The loss to their division rival was the team's 15th straight against them. The Jets fell to 1–2 as a result. The Jets last beat the Patriots in Week 16 of the 2015 NFL season.Patriots beat Jets 15–10 to extend their winning streak to 15 straight over New York, AP News, September 24, 2023
Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
In New York's first Sunday Night Football appearance in 12 years, the Jets overcame a 17–0 first quarter deficit, tying the game at 20 in the third quarter and limiting reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes to a 63.6 passer rating. However, the Chiefs regained the lead late, and a crucial fumble from Zach Wilson, who otherwise had one of the best performances in his career, allowed Kansas City to close out the game.
Week 5: at Denver Broncos
For the first time in history, the Jets had safeties in back to back games.Jets-Broncos Game Recap | Breece Hall Elevates Jets to 31-21 Win at Mile High, NewYorkJets.com, October 8, 2023
Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Jets returned home to face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, whom they had an 0–12 lifetime record against. After facing a 14–3 deficit in the second quarter, the Jets managed to silence Philadelphia's offense the remainder of the way, and simultaneously chip away at the deficit, pulling within two points by the third quarter. Right after the two minute warning, Tony Adams intercepted Jalen Hurts — the third interception forced by the Jets defense — and returned the ball 45 yards to set New York up inside the Eagles' 10 yard line. On the very next play, Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Jets. The defense then made one final stop on the ensuing Philadelphia drive to preserve the Jets' upset win. With this win, their first ever in thirteen meetings with the Eagles, the Jets improved to 3–3.Jets earn first-ever win over Eagles, leave Jalen Hurts latest QB 'embarrassed' by defense, NFL.com, October 15, 2023
Week 8: at New York Giants
Despite the Giants leading 10–7 and the Jets having no timeouts remaining, a missed field goal from Graham Gano with 24 seconds left set the Jets up on a game tying drive, with Zach Wilson throwing two 29-yard passes to set up the game tying field goal. In overtime, the Jets forced the Giants to punt before the Jets kicked a game winning field goal in overtime to improve to 4–3.Jets-Giants Game Recap Wild Finish Lifts Jets to OT Win, NewYorkJets.com, October 30, 2023
Week 9: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
The Jets offense once again struggled, as Zach Wilson got sacked 8 times by the Chargers defense.
Week 10: at Las Vegas Raiders
The Jets offense continued to struggle, failing to score a touchdown for the second straight game.
Week 11: at Buffalo Bills
The Jets scored their first touchdown in 13 quarters of gameplay dating back to their win over the Giants. However, the team otherwise struggled on offense, netting just 155 total yards and turning the ball over three times, leading to Zach Wilson being benched for Tim Boyle in the third quarter. In addition, Buffalo, which had just fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey the week before, performed much more effectively on offense as compared to week 1, putting up the most points allowed by the Jets defense at this point of the season and surrendering just one turnover on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. Notably, the Bills scored 10 points off Jets turnovers, with their first field goal coming off a fumbled opening kickoff return from Xavier Gipson, who had scored the game-winning punt return touchdown in week 1. New York fell to 4–6 with the blowout loss to the Bills.
Week 12: vs. Miami Dolphins Black Friday games