NFL Schedule Rumors 2023: Aaron Rodgers, Jets to Host Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs Oct. 1

Does it get much better than Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes on a Sunday night?

Mark your calendars. The New York Jets will reportedly face the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 1's Sunday Night Football, per the New York Post's Brian Costello, pitting the two superstar quarterbacks against one another.

It's an exciting matchup on a number of levels.

For one, Rodgers and Mahomes have never actually faced each other in a game, as Costello noted. In 2019 when the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers met, Mahomes missed the game, while in the 2021 rematch, Aaron Rodgers was out of action.

It's also the first true SNF appearance for the Jets since 2011. The addition of Rodgers figures to land the team on primetime far more regularly this season, with a season-opening game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football already announced.

The Jets will also play the Miami Dolphins on Black Friday.

It will be one of eight games for the Jets against a playoff team from the 2022 season (the Bills and Dolphins twice alongside the Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants).

The Chiefs will also have eight games against playoff teams from last year (Los Angeles Chargers twice, Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings).

Expectations are always high for the Chiefs and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, who have won two of the past four NFL titles. But playoff expectations are a bit less familiar in New York, where the Jets haven't reached the postseason since 2010.

Rodgers' arrival, of course, has whipped Jets fans into a state of frenzied optimism.

"Oh yeah, most definitely, we was a playoff team last year," Sauce Gardner told The Ringer's Kevin Clark in April when asked if the addition of Rodgers makes them a playoff team. "We just didn't finish like we were supposed to. But with A-Rod joining, and a few more new pieces, that just makes it, you know, easy."

Time will tell. A primetime matchup against Mahomes and the Chiefs will be a good litmus test.