The New York Jets announced their 2012 regular season schedule on April 17. The lineup includes four prime-time games, three of those games in the latter part of the season. The Jets have three home games in a row in weeks four, five and six. They are scheduled for two Monday night games.

Games to watch

The first regular season game is against the Buffalo Bills. The season opener at Met Life Stadium should give us a good idea of what to expect this season from New York. Game two against the Pittsburgh Steelers is a must win for the Jets if they want to finally get over their postseason loss in 2010. If the Jets win in weeks seven and 12 against the New England Patriots, you better believe they will be strong Super Bowl contenders — how Tim Tebow will fit into this schedule is yet to be seen.

The 2012 Schedule

1) Sunday, September 9, 1:00 p.m. Buffalo Bills at New York Jets.

2) Sunday, September 16, 4:15 p.m. New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers.

3) Sunday, September 23, 1:00 p.m. New York Jets at Miami Dolphins.

4) Sunday, September 30, 1:00 p.m. San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets.

5) Monday, October 8, 8:30 p.m. Houston Texans at New York Jets.

6) Sunday, October 14, 1:00 p.m. Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets.

7) Sunday, October 21, 4:15 p.m. New York Jets at New England Patriots.

Sunday, October 28, 1:00 p.m. Miami Dolphins at New York Jets.

9) Bye week.

10) Sunday, November 11, 4:05 p.m. New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks.

11) Sunday, November 18, 1:00 p.m. New York Jets at St. Louis Rams.

12) Thursday, November 22, 8:20 p.m. New England Patriots at New York Jets.

13) Sunday, December 2, 1:00 p.m. Arizona Cardinals at New York Jets.

14) Sunday, December 9, 1:00 p.m. New York Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars.

15) Monday, December 17, 8:30 p.m. New York Jets at Tennessee Titans.

16) Sunday, December 23, 8:20 p.m. San Diego Chargers at New York Jets.

17) Sunday 30, 1:00 p.m. New York Jets at Buffalo Bills.

The 2012 schedule has less travel than the 2011 season did. The bye week divides the season in half for the Jets, giving them a well needed rest. Their toughest games will be against the Patriots and the Steelers. I look forward to seeing the Jets in the post-season this year.

Lynda Altman grew up just outside of New York City. She has been a Jets fan all of her life and hopes they have a winning season in 2012. You can contact her @LdyJetsFan on Twitter.

MIAMI – Jason Taylor’s ready to hang it up, while the New York Jets are desperate to keep playing.

Taylor plans to retire after Sunday’s season finale for the Miami Dolphins. They’ll try to send him out with a win against the Jets, who need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Even if the Jets win, to earn a post-season berth they’ll also need losses Sunday by Cincinnati, Tennessee and either Denver or Oakland.

“This is the first time I have ever been in a situation like this,” said receiver Plaxico Burress, a 10-year veteran. “If we do get in, great. If things don’t work out, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (8-7) lost control of their destiny when they were beaten last week by the Giants 29-14. Now the Jets are in danger of missing the playoffs after reaching the AFC championship game each of the past two years, and elimination could come at the hands of the AFC East rival Dolphins (5-10).

“It would be beautiful to ruin their playoff dreams,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’re playing for pride. They’re playing for a playoff spot.”

The teams meet in a regular-season finale for the first time since 2008, when the Dolphins won to clinch their only division title since 2000. That game eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

This year the Dolphins have been consigned to a spoiler’s role since Halloween, thanks to their 0-7 start. Taylor’s retirement announcement this week provided some additional motivation for the last game.

The NFL’s active sack leader spent 13 of his 15 seasons with Miami, made the Pro Bowl six times and ranks with the greatest players in franchise history.

“His presence will be missed, not only in our locker room, but in this organization,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “Those guys are once-in-a-lifetime guys. We would love for him to go out with a win.”

Coincidentally, Taylor played last season for the Jets before rejoining the Dolphins.

“He was a great teammate, and we loved having him here,” Jets tight end Dustin Keller said. “But they’re going to want to send him off with a big win, and we can’t let that happen. We know what kind of player he is and what he’s capable of, and we can’t let him disrupt the game.”

Taylor has 16 1/2 of his 139 1/2 sacks against the Jets, although he managed none when the teams met in October. New York won 24-6, and while the Dolphins have been a much better team lately, they’ll be without 1,000-yard rusher Reggie Bush because of a knee injury.

The Dolphins took a 17-point lead at New England last week before losing 27-24, which left them 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. The Jets’ loss to the Giants carried even more sting, because it may wind up costing them a playoff berth.

Coach Rex Ryan declared months ago that these Jets are even more talented than the two teams he took to the AFC title game. But New York has given up 74 points while losing the past two games, and the offence was so out of sorts against the Giants that Mark Sanchez was forced to throw a career-high 59 passes. The Jets rank 27th in the NFL in yardage, stirring speculation about offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s job security.

With typical bravado, Ryan insisted the season might yet be salvaged.

“We can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defence, I think we can run the football, and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.”

But getting to the post-season is now a long shot. Three of the other games that will determine the Jets’ fate are late starts Sunday, which means that if they win, the Jets will likely be flying home when they learn whether their season is over.

“We’re just focused on the things we can control, and that’s trying to play well against Miami and coming up with a win,” Sanchez said. “After that, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we get a win and on the plane we find out everything worked out in our favour. But all we can control is winning.”

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are bound for another off-season of change. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Dec. 12, and the next coach will be Miami’s seventh since the start of 2004. With a losing record for the third consecutive year — the Dolphins’ first such stretch since the 1960s — a roster shake-up is likely, too.

Given his team’s situation, the 37-year-old Taylor decided the time was right to call it quits. He’ll do it after playing his 204th game for the Dolphins, more than anyone aside from Dan Marino.

“It’s great to have a chance to walk away in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against,” Taylor said. “I want to win the game, but not so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career. There are guys in the locker-room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs. So I’m just a small piece of this team train. I’m going to do my part Sunday to help win.”

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Slow starts are a thing of the past for the suddenly clicking New York Jets.

Remember those brutally boring first quarters when they couldn’t get much going? Well, those are so four weeks ago.

Mark Sanchez and the once-struggling offense have become an efficient group that has gotten on the scoreboard early and often during the Jets’ three-game winning streak.

“I think we’re all just playing a lot better across the board,” Sanchez said.

And they’ve done it against some pretty good defenses. Here comes another one this Sunday: the Eagles, who are coming off a nine-sack performance against Miami and playing for their playoff lives in a season that has been filled with inconsistencies.

“It sounds awfully familiar to another team I know,” center Nick Mangold said with a slight grin.

Big things were expected from the Jets offense this season, particularly in the passing game with Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress. Instead, there were a few impressive spurts scattered throughout an early portion of a season marked mainly by spotty play by Sanchez, the offensive line, the running game, and the receivers.

New York is ranked 25th in overall offense, but the Jets are in a real groove offensively. They have 13 touchdowns in the last three games, which ties them with New Orleans, New England, and Green Bay – the top-ranked three offenses in the league – for the most in the NFL during that span.

“I don’t think our practices were quite as sharp as they’ve been lately, and I think that carries over to the game,” coach Rex Ryan said. “I think you see right now our team is feeling pretty good about themselves.”

It all started in the fourth quarter against Buffalo in Week 12, when Sanchez led the Jets to a 28-24, comeback victory over the Bills with a touchdown pass to Holmes with just over a minute left. New York followed that by scoring on its first possession against Washington and then dominating the Redskins in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns in less than five minutes for a 34-19 win.

Last Sunday against the Chiefs, the Jets rebounded from an embarrassing timeout on their first play from scrimmage by again scoring a touchdown on their first possession, and kept going while cruising to a 37-10 victory. While no one might confuse this offense for those of the Saints, Patriots, or Packers right now, it certainly has become a force during the team’s streak.

“I think hopefully we’re just starting to hit our stride, and we’re not there yet,” Sanchez said.

“I think you’re seeing, for the most part, consistent play out of the offense,” right guard Brandon Moore said. “It’s . . . coming to fruition.

The AFC East rival New England Patriots come to MetLife Stadium this Sunday (8:20 p.m., NBC) and the team that has been the marker for the Jets the past two seasons appears to be ripe for the picking this time around. The Jets have won three straight, including a dominant performance Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, the third team tied atop the AFC East. The Patriots come in having lost two straight games, inlcuding a last-second loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

“It’s right in front of us,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan.

The Jets lost to New England, 30-21, in Week 5 to fall to 2-3. They have not lost since.

“We knew that our team could improve,” Ryan said. “we put together a good football team. Thought we could get better, and we have gotten better. So, we’ll see how much. This is the tops. If you want to win your division, you’ve got to beat these guys.”

Here are some of the most memorable moments from Sunday’s game at the Ralph against the rivals Jets.

Scroll through the picture viewer above to see the pictures.

Click here to see a Bills-Jets photo gallery from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

On a swinging Sunday, no team saw their fortunes swing as much as the New York Jets in the span of 6 hours. Leading into the week, I looked at an AFC playoff picture that had the Jets just on the outside, with New York needing to win key games against the Bills and Patriots to reverse the outlook. The Jets dominated the game in Buffalo, 27-11, pulling away in the third quarter. New York’s pass defense limited Fitzpatrick to less than 50% completions and he threw two interceptions, and Fred Jackson’s costly fumble set up the Jets’ touchdown that made it 13-0 in the third quarter.

New York left Buffalo with an identical 5-3 record, a road win in hand, and then got more good results in New England. The Patriots offense did not score in the first half, the result of consistently poor field position, coming up just short on third down to sustain drives, and costly turnovers. Brady threw an interception on the first drive of the second half, leading to a field goal, and fumbled on a sack on the next one, resulting immediately in a Brandon Jacobs’ touchdown run. Through the first three quarters, the Patriots defense played better and kept them in the game while the offense struggled. As the offense finally came on late, the defense fell apart, though. New England twice had leads in the fourth quarter, and surrendered two touchdown drives to the Giants, both coming in the last 3:07.

So, we are left with this. The Patriots have now scored less than 21 points in three straight games, losing the last two, after going 13 straight regular season games with at least 30 points. The defense continues to give up yards and could not make a stop at the end of a close game. The Jets and Patriots are now tied at 5-3, leading into the game this Sunday in New York. The winner is the favorite to win the AFC East.

Other AFC teams had big days as well. The Ravens won with a late touchdown drive last night, sweeping Pittsburgh. The Bengals won a key swing game at Tennessee, and as a result, now need to play the Steelers and Ravens evenly to have a shot at the postseason. The Texans are lurking at 6-3 after another dominant win over a weak opponent, and with the day’s results in New England and Pittsburgh, are just one-half game off the conference lead, with the easiest schedule over the second half. The Broncos are somehow just one game back in the AFC West, after the rest of the division plays hot potato with the football.

None though, had as big a day as the J-E-T-S, who now find themselves in position to shoot past the Patriots and Bills after a wild Sunday.

[photo via Getty]

Mike Mayock says the Jets are “upset” and “frustrated” at being the only team to play a Thursday night game after a Sunday night game (instead of after a Sunday afternoon game) when they head to Denver in week 11. So just a heads-up now: if the Jets lose to a hapless Broncos team, they’re going to claim it was because they had 4-7 hours less prep time than everyone else. [Star-Ledger]

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Nick Mangold might have to sit this one out for the New York Jets.

An MRI exam Monday revealed that the All-Pro center has a high ankle sprain that could sideline him for at least this Sunday’s game against the Raiders.

“I would say his status for the game, I would assume, (is) very iffy,” coach Rex Ryan said. “I don’t think it looks very good as far as playing this week.”

Mangold injured his right ankle in the first quarter of the Jets’ 32-3 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday. He had just made a solid block on a 7-yard run by Shonn Greene when he went down as the Jaguars’ Daryl Smith rolled into his leg.

He limped into the locker room for X-rays, which were negative, but didn’t return. He left the stadium on crutches and his foot in a boot.

“Very frustrating,” Mangold said after the game. “It’s not what I want. It’s not what I expected. It’s difficult.”

High ankle sprains usually take a few weeks to heal, so it appears Mangold’s streak of starting all 82 regular-season games since he was drafted in 2006 is in serious jeopardy.

“He thinks he can go,” Ryan said. “We’ll see how it progresses. I wouldn’t count him out. He’s a tough guy, but the trainers will always do what’s in the best interest of the player and we’ll never put a guy out there that shouldn’t be out there. With that said, I think it’s iffy whether he plays or not, with all due respect to Nick.”

Mangold was replaced by rookie Colin Baxter, an undrafted free agent originally signed by San Diego. Baxter will likely get the start if Mangold can’t go, as expected.

“It’s crazy, man,” Baxter said. “It just goes to show that if you just keep working at it, you’ll get your shot.”

Ryan said Baxter did “a great job” after having to take over as the center against Jacksonville, despite having not practiced snapping to quarterback Mark Sanchez until a few on the sideline just before he entered the game. There was one bad snap early, but Baxter otherwise seemed to play well.

“He stepped in and did the best he could with the position he was in,” right guard Brandon Moore said.

Baxter was signed by the Chargers out of the University of Arizona, where he was regarded one of the top prospects at his position, was waived on Sept. 3 and claimed by the Jets the next day. He said he’ll lean on Mangold and the rest of the offensive linemen as well as offensive line coach Bill Callahan this week and prepare as if he’s going to start.

“I’ve got to do a lot this week,” Baxter said. “I’ve been doing a lot out there with Coach after practice, working on sets and technique. I’m in there with Rob (Turner) after meetings, going over books and going over it at home, here, the hotel.”

Starting left guard Matt Slauson would be Baxter’s backup Sunday if Mangold doesn’t play. Baxter is actually the team’s third-string center behind Mangold and the injured Turner, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Jets will look elsewhere to find a veteran center to fill in for Mangold.

“I’m comfortable with the guys we have,” Ryan said. “I feel good about who we have.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP)—Mark Sanchez(notes) got shoved, knocked around and
slammed to the turf by the Dallas Cowboys, and has the bumps and bruises to
prove it.

He’s got a few precautionary concussion test results, too.

It was one of those brutally physical nights for the New York Jets
quarterback. And it was only the first game.

“I feel good,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “Felt like we just had a physical
game and the training staff just wanted to be extra cautious and make sure I’m
doing well, especially at the beginning of the season so I can make it through
the long haul.”

The Jets’ season and their Super Bowl hopes could depend on that. They need
their franchise quarterback healthy, and know they need to do a better job of
protecting Sanchez. He was sacked four times by the Cowboys on Sunday night, and
hit almost a dozen times in a 27-24 victory.

He appeared weary after the game, and underwent tests Sunday and Monday to
make sure he was OK.

“We all saw that he took some hits, so everything that we did was more
precautionary,” coach Rex Ryan said. “I’m happy to report that he passed with
flying colors.”

Sanchez said he woke up Monday feeling fine and spent the day resting,
getting a massage and sitting in the cold tub to help him recover.

The fact Sanchez was able to withstand the pounding and still help lead the
Jets to a victory impressed his teammates. Even the ones who razzed him a bit
for his recent GQ magazine photo spread, which featured shots of Sanchez wearing
tight white pants in one and sitting in a tub in another.

“You wouldn’t think a GQ cover guy would be as tough as he is, but he’s a
tough guy,” wide receiver Plaxico Burress(notes) said. “He’ll battle through. It’s
not like he’s sitting in the chair getting makeup brushed on anything. He’s a
tough guy.”

Right tackle Wayne Hunter(notes), who replaced the retired Damien Woody(notes), had a long
night trying to block DeMarcus Ware(notes), who had two sacks. But Sanchez pinned the
blame on himself for two of the four sacks.

“Totally my fault, no question,” he said. “I mean, all the way. I
should’ve gotten rid of the ball. Other than that, you take a couple of hits,
I’ll throw a bad ball, somebody misses a block or somebody makes a wrong cut.
That stuff’s going to happen. We can live with those. But, don’t set yourself up
and just stand there and take a shot.”

Still, the offensive line must do a better job of keeping Sanchez upright.

“He got knocked down about 10 times last week, so clearly, you don’t want
that to happen unless you had Roman Gabriel back there or something, who weighed
like 280 (pounds),” Ryan said. “We need to do a better job of protecting him
and we need to be able to run the ball better, so I think that kind of goes
hand-in-hand.”

The Jets’ usual “Ground-and-Pound” approach fell to the wayside early as
they ran for just 45 yards on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Sanchez threw 44 times for
335 yards, one off his career high. Ryan said he doesn’t want to make a habit of
having the offense tilted so heavily in favor of the passing game.

But one thing that has become a disturbingly normal occurrence is the Jets’
inability to score a touchdown in the first quarter. They are at 16 straight
games without getting into the end zone in the opening 15 minutes, but hope to
fix all that Sunday against Jacksonville.

“Nobody thinks we’re going to come out and go three-and-out,” Sanchez
said. “At least, I hope they don’t. But that’s not the kind of team we have.
We’ve been a slow-starting kind of team for 16 games or whatever. Something’s
got to change. Maybe it’s our attitude.

“I think the play-calling’s fine. We just need to convert on third down.
Whether it’s me throwing a more accurate ball or not getting sacked on the first
play, that kind of stuff. A sack is a drive killer, but we can’t have negative
plays on first down.”

Burress acknowledged that it isn’t just on the offensive line to protect
Sanchez, but the running backs and receivers, too.

“We all have to do a better job, myself being alert on the hot blitzes and
different things like that,” Burress said, “and make sure we are in the right
places so he doesn’t have to hold onto the football and take those hits.”

Burress and Derrick Mason(notes), the Jets’ two new veteran receivers, were slowly
worked into the game Sunday as Sanchez focused at first on Santonio Holmes(notes),
Dustin Keller(notes) and LaDainian Tomlinson(notes).

“I made a point of just going over to both and said, `Hang with me. Hang
with me, I’ll get you the rock, don’t worry. Just keep running the routes, stay
sharp and trust me: I will throw you the ball. It’ll happen,”’ Sanchez said.
“And, thank God it did because they would’ve been mad. But, they showed poise,
they stayed into the game and I’m really happy with the way our chemistry’s
working.”

Burress finished with four catches for 72 yards, including a pretty 26-yard
spinning touchdown, while Mason had three receptions for 19 yards.

“Playing quarterback in the National Football League is the hardest job in
sports, other than being a goalie in the NHL or hitting a baseball,” Burress
said. “We are going to go as he goes. He’s getting better, every day. We’re
working tirelessly to be on the same page and when we get on Sundays, to try to
make it be easy. But everything is a process. He’s coming along and I expect for
him to keep getting better, week in and week out.”

Notes: The Jets are wearing their New York Titans “throwback” uniforms
this weekend, something Ryan knows some fans aren’t in favor of. “We’re 4-1 in
those blue uniforms, so anything for a win,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t matter if
it was purple, we’d be wearing purple. … The fans, I understand, aren’t really
happy with it, but just bear with us for this one game. Let’s make it 5-1 and
we’ll all be happy.”

Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.

by Russ Oates • Aug 21, 2011 8:56 PM EDT

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Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis is active for the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after sitting out practice Friday with an undisclosed knee ailment. He had two sacks and played a terrific all-around game in New York’s win at New England last Sunday.

Ellis had a pain-killing shot on Friday and another Sunday morning before the game, head coach Rex Ryan told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio.

Steelers starting cornerback Bryant McFadden is active for the game after being limited by an abdominal injury from the win over Baltimore last Saturday.

Safety Will Allen (knee) is not playing Sunday, and neither is defensive end Aaron Smith, who hasn’t been active since Oct. 24, when he tore a triceps muscle in a win at Miami.

Jets wide receiver-kick returner Brad Smith (groin) is playing after sitting out last weekend following an injury in the Jets’ playoff-opening victory at Indianapolis.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.