NY Jets - Home Sweet Jersey

With the Jets’ season on the ropes, they’ll be playing their next two games at home, a gift that comes at the perfect time. However, those two games are against the 7-3 Panthers and 6-4 Chiefs. Does home field really matter when they’re playing teams of that caliber?

Well, home-field has been as much of a difference maker for the Jets this year as any team, in spite of opponent record. At home, they’ve faced a much tougher slate than they have on the road. At MetLife, the Jets have hosted teams with a combined .600 winning percentage, including three teams above .500 and only one team below. They’ve gone 3-2 with a +18 point differential in those games against high-level aggregate competition. On the road, they’ve taken on teams with a ghastly .340 winning percentage, yet they’ve gone 1-4 with a -39 point differential in those games.

What to make of this difference in home/away performance? It is great to see the Jets protect their field the way they have. Despite their two blown leads against superior opponents, their overall body of work at home against a strong slate is impressive for a young bunch.

But what about the road? If the Jets can outplay a hard schedule at home, why are they getting dominated by inferior opponents on the road? Their only road win was against the winless Browns. They lost their other four road games, all against teams currently without a winning record. You could argue the Jets only “good” road performance was three quarters of their Week 7 trip to Miami, where they were in complete control before a late collapse. They were arguably lucky to beat the Browns due to Cleveland’s own unforced mistakes.

In fact, the Jets’ advantage at MetLife Stadium isn’t actually anything new. Since the building opened in 2010, the Jets have been among the largest beneficiaries of home-field in the entire league.

Only the Texans, Titans, and Broncos sport a larger difference in home point differential compared to road point differential in 2017 than the Jets (-11.4). What do you think of the Jets’ home/away splits? Is MetLife Stadium really that much of an edge, or is it an indictment (either positive or negative) on this squad?