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THE NFL has received massive criticism over its choice of an opponent for the New York Jets on Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football in Week 3.
Superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets blew out the New England Patriots in their home opener by a score of 24-3 and fans not only called out the league for the matchup decision, but also the broadcast.
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Rodgers made his return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since his season-ending Achilles injury just four snaps into New York’s 2023 season opener.
The 40-year-old looked like his vintage self, passing for 281 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets’ second straight win.
However, fans weren’t impressed with the NFL’s matchup decision and it wasn’t because of New York being part of the game.
Fans were not pleased with the Jets’ opponents: the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots who fell to a 4-13 record last season.
Fans wanted the Buffalo Bills – the same team that faced the Jets in the Week 1 matchup in 2023 – or the Miami Dolphins in the Thursday night primetime game.
The Jets vs. Patriots contest was still a divisional matchup, but a terribly lopsided one for the beleaguered Pats.
Social media users shared their grief with the league over the Week 3 game.
“Thursday Night Football when it comes to giving us the most trash football games we’ll watch in our lifetimes,” one commented.
“Is it just me or do Thursday night football games always seem very boring?” another asked.
“Thursday night football is genuinely so bad every week,” a third added.
Fans even slammed Prime Video’s broadcast quality as well as play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
“Who let Amazon get Thursday night football. Always the worst stream, extremely choppy, and poor quality overall” one stated.
“The broadcast of TNF is so sterile and boring it’s almost unwatchable,” another said.
The Patriots did claim the Week 1 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
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And they lost in overtime in their home season opener against the favored Seattle Seahawks.
But New England had a disappointing performance on Thursday as they didn’t record a touchdown and allowed quarterback Jacoby Brissett to be sacked five times and hit 15 times.
The Patriots will now have the tough task of facing the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.
The Jets, meanwhile, will take on the 0-2 Denver Broncos.
As for Thursday Night Football, fans will get to watch the Dallas Cowboys go up against the winless New York Giants in Week 4.
New York hasn’t beaten Dallas since 2021 and the NFL’s backlash concerning the matchup choice could continue if a blowout happens again.
