Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season ends with a highly anticipated matchup. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are in East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in the season premiere on Monday Night Football. The game will kick off on Monday at 8:15 p.m. and will air on ESPN and ABC. Also, Peyton and Eli Manning will be back with the first ManningCast of the year, and it will air on ESPN 2. Bills vs. Jets will also stream on ESPN+.
The Bills had high hopes last year as they were one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. But the team came up short after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs in January. Despite the tough loss, the Bills are still a Super Bowl contender because they have Allen as the team’s starting quarterback. He finished the 2022 season with 4,283 yards and 35 touchdowns which led to him being named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. Allen gained a lot of attention this offseason since he was named the cover athlete of the video game Madden NFL 24.
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“Me being on Madden 24 means joining a very exclusive crew that gets to be on the cover of one of the greatest games to come out,” Allen said in June, per the Bills’ official website. “I think learning the game at a young age and using Madden as that platform to understand the rules and the ins and outs of football.
The Jets did not make the playoffs last year but have visions of reaching the Super Bowl after trading for Rodgers in April. Rodgers joins the Jets after being with the Green Bay Packers since 2005, and he’s surrounded by a talented group of offensive players, including 2022 Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook. The defense is just as talented as it’s led by First-Team All-Pro Quinnen Williams and 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner.
“It’s going to be good, I’m going to be excited out there with the crowd,” Rodgers said about the game, per the Jets’ official website. “I hope to get out there early, get the jitters out in pregame and go out and try to execute.” He added: “I just want them [the fans] to show up early and be as loud as possible when we’re on defense. There’s a lot of excitement, for good reason.”
