Jets Open Against Sam Darnold in "Revenge" Game

 The NFL picked a real juicy one to kick-off the season for the New York Jets. 

Gang Green will open its 2021 campaign in Charlotte against Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers on September 12 at 1 p.m. 

It will mark a very quick opportunity for Darnold has to avenge his old team after the Jets traded him to the Panthers a month ago to make room for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. 

You can imagine the subplots already.  Not only will the game be a showdown between Darnold and Wilson, as well as Darnold against Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh, but it will be a revenge game of sorts for ex-Jet Robby Anderson, who is now the Panthers number 1 receiver. Douglas opted not to sign Anderson last off-season, allowing the speedster to head to Carolina. 

In addition to it being the first game of the Robert Saleh era, it will be the first shot Panthers head coach Matt Rhule gets against the team that opted to hire Adam Gase over him. Gase and Rhule were finalists for the Jets job back in 2019, but Rhule was not happy about having no say in personnel and declined the Jets job. 

In addition to the season opener in Charlotte, the Jets will head to London, England in Week 5 to square off against the Atlanta Falcons. The Jets will be designated the "road team." The last time the Jets played in London, in 2015, they beat the Miami Dolphins. The NFL will have two games in London this year, the other being the Dolphins against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

It is interesting the NFL opted to send the Jets to London considering the controversy Jets owner Woody Johnson was embroiled in across the pond while the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson was accused of making several sexist and racist statements, and overworking his staff. In addition he was accused of urging the State Department to withhold his comments from being made public. 

Nothing came of the investigation however.

One would think the NFL would have taken caution to the wind and not sent Johnson's club to England to face even more scrutiny. 

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Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that the Jets could be playing in Indianapolis in Week 9 on a Thursday night.