After five weeks of thrilling regular season action, the Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag League reached its conclusion on Monday evening in Ealing, as the Ealing Fields Jets secured the inaugural title against the Beaconsfield Bears, by a score of 38-12.

All 12 teams and 130 girls took part in the event, with games directly between Jets and Bears teams for the first time in the league to date. Ealing Fields and Beaconsfield progressed to the grand final after victories against Featherstone and Northwood respectively, with a large crowd gathering to watch the final unfold.

Along with the on-field action, the event at Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club also had hair braiding, eye black artists, cornhole, jenga, BBQ and an ice cream stand, as the girls celebrated their extraordinary progress in the London sunshine.

Since the launch event on March 8th at the same location, the progress of the participating teams has been eye-catching, with a number of dazzling plays stealing the show. Along with their on-field displays, the girls impressed with their off-field teamwork, camaraderie and passion for the game.

Almost all girls had zero experience playing flag football before the league began, but threw themselves head first into the challenge, representing their schools and teams with pride.

During the trophy presentation, which included short speeches from Jets and Bears community representatives Eli Hodges and Gustavo Silva, it was also revealed that the winning Ealing Fields team would represent the Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this year, in a one-off contest with their German equivalents.

Ealing Fields went the regular season unbeaten, and it was clear why on Monday as they dominated on offence and defence when it mattered most, pulling away in a final that had all to play for at half time.

The teams were cheered on by a number of parents, relatives and fans, including flag player and Sky Sports analyst Phoebe Schecter and former New York Jet Erik Coleman. Coleman also spent the day before attending a grassroots training session at Finsbury Park, the home of the London Blitz.

The six week league was an extension of the Jets hugely successful domestic Girls Flag programme, and marks the start of what they hope will be a sustained effort in the United Kingdom to promote grassroots American Football.

With the New York Jets schedule officially released this month, all that remains is to count down the days until that opening game against the Buffalo Bills – not too long now!

The 17-game schedule is full of bumper matchups, but we thought we’d break down five of the can’t miss contests for UK fans, especially given some of them might require some crafty planning of sleep schedules…

Week 1 – New York Jets vs Buffalo Bills – Tuesday 12 September, 1:15AM

We have to start at the beginning. A Monday Night Football matchup with back-to-back-to-back division champions the Buffalo Bills.

Aaron Rodgers’ first start as a New York Jet will come in front of a raucous MetLife Stadium crowd on national television, as the Jets look to repeat the trick from last season and beat Josh Allen and the Bills at home.

Fans in the UK: take Tuesday off work now. This one is going to be worth staying up for.

Week 4 – New York Jets vs Kansas City Chiefs – Monday 2 October, 1:20AM

It’s another late game, but you’d have to call this one ‘can’t miss’. The visit of the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, will take place on Sunday Night Football, as the Jets make their first appearance on SNF in over a decade.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are once again one of the favourites for the Lombardi Trophy, so if the Jets want to be considered serious contenders, this is a game where they will have the opportunity to lay down a marker.

The MetLife crowd is bound to be energised for this one, and we once again recommend a tactical day off on the Monday if you can…

Week 8 – New York Giants vs New York Jets – Sunday 29 October, 5PM

The New York Derby! For the first time since 2019, the Jets and Giants will go head-to-head in the regular season, as the Jets ‘travel’ to their crosstown rivals.

Off the bye week, and playing at the earlier time slot of 5pm UK due to the end of Daylight Savings, this will be a big game not just for city bragging rights, but to set the tone of the Jets second half of the season.

Week 12 – New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins – Friday 24 November, 8PM

The first Black Friday game in NFL history! The Jets will play host for another [quasi] prime time game in week 12, when the Dolphins come to town, at the UK-friendly Friday night time of 8pm.

The first of two contests with the Dolphins in a four-week stretch, this one could have major divisional ramifications if 2022 was any indicator.

Week 18 – New England Patriots vs New York Jets – TBD, TBD

Although we don’t yet know the date and time of this final week matchup, it’s still worth circling on the schedule.

The Jets haven’t beaten the Patriots in their previous 14 attempts, a dismal record stretching back to 2015. They will hope to get the monkey off their back in week three when the Patriots travel to MetLife, but regardless of how that result plays out, this game could be seismic in terms of implications.

Both teams have playoff aspirations in what looks set to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, and the outcome from this one could decide the division winner, seedings or even wildcard spots in a crucial way. Plus, it’s always nice to beat the Pats.

Of course, there are plenty of other mouth-watering matchups on the schedule for this season, including prime time games with the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders as well as the visit of NFC champions the Philadelphia Eagles.

A reminder too that Sky Sports NFL will be showing live broadcast coverage of games each week including all prime time contests, talkSPORT will have exclusive radio rights to several Jets games and all of the action can also be found via GamePass International – more details to come on that front.

We’ll be keeping you up to date too with every moment of the action – so get your diaries prepped now as you won’t want to miss it.

The New York Jets regular season schedule was announced on Thursday night as part of the NFL’s league-wide schedule release.

In 2023, the Jets’ 17-game schedule will include nine home games and eight away, with the schedule rotation meaning they play all four teams from both the AFC West and NFC East.

Their schedule also includes a whopping six primetime games, including the first ever Black Friday game against division rivals the Miami Dolphins.

Better get your sleep in now!

They’ll start the season at MetLife for what looks set to be an electric Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills.

After a trip to Dallas, they host the Patriots in the only 6pm UK kick-off until December before another primetime game at MetLife – Sunday Night Football against reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.

The schedule doesn’t get much easier ahead of the bye, with a trip to Denver followed by the visit of the Philadelphia Eagles – last year’s NFC champs.

After the bye week, it’s crosstown rivalry week, as the Jets play ‘away’ at MetLife for the first time since 2015, vs the Giants. The Chargers and Raiders games follow, both at primetime: the first on Monday Night and the second Sunday night before the Jets play the reverse fixture against Buffalo.

They’ll contest the first ever Black Friday NFL game against the Dolphins on November 24th at the UK-friendly time of 8pm. They then play four games back in the 6pm timeslot, including three at home, the last of which is a Christmas Eve contest with the Washington Commanders.

A Thursday Night Football matchup in Cleveland will help ring in the New Year, before the Jets complete their schedule with a trip to Foxborough in January – exact date and time TBC.

So there you have it! 17 games across 18 weeks, with the Jets hoping that this is the year their long playoff absence comes to an end.

From a UK perspective, it’s going to be a lot of late nights! But with mouth-watering matchups start to finish, the adrenaline will be pumping (along with the coffee) to help get us through.

Chime in on social media with your thoughts, and keep your eyes peeled for more info as the season ticks closer.

The 2023 NFL Draft concluded on Saturday night, as the final rounds played out in Kansas City and the New York Jets finalised their selection of rookies.

There was one fun twist in the tail on Saturday evening when the draft went away from KC however: all the way to London.

With their first fourth round pick, 120th overall, the New York Jets made the pick announcement live from the talkSPORT offices near London Bridge, with six Jets & Bears NFL Girls Flag participants joining radio host Will Gavin for a special presentation.

The Jets selected Carter Warren with the pick, an offensive lineman out of Pittsburgh, who actually grew up a Jets fan in the New Jersey area.

It marks the second time in as many years that the Jets have made a live draft selection from London, following Nick Mangold’s broadcast from the top of the Shard in 2022, when Max Mitchell joined the roster – also making it 2 for 2 in terms of offensive tackles selected here in the UK.

It also helped shine a light on the ongoing Jets & Bears NFL Girls Flag league, which is underway now, with weekly games taking place at Ealing Trailfinders in West London.

Maryam Hashi, 12, was chosen as the lead announcer and did an outstanding job – her Fielding School team will be in action on Thursday, hoping some strong results can boost their chances at winning the inaugural Championship, with the finals taking place on May 22nd.

For more information on the league and teams, please visit the Girls Flag page of our website.

It’s official: Aaron Rodgers is a New York Jet.

The trade between the Jets and the Green Bay Packers was confirmed at 2pm exactly on Wednesday 26th April, moments before Rodgers’ introductory press conference at One Jets Drive.

The Jets gave up a 2023 first round pick (13), second round pick (42) and sixth round pick (207) as well as a conditional 2024 pick which will be a first or second round pick depending on Rodgers’ playing time.

In return, they got Rodgers, the Packers 2023 first round pick (15) and fifth round pick (170).

The trade was a long time coming. Rumours around Rodgers’ future swirled as early as January, whilst the Jets’ desire to recruit a veteran quarterback was no secret.

Speculation ramped up when Jets leadership visited Rodgers in California in March, with Rodgers’ announcement a few days later on the Pat McAfee show that his intention was to play for the Jets all but confirming the marriage between the two sides.

Jets GM Joe Douglas and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst still had the details of any deal to work through however, with negotiations continuing up until draft week, when the transaction was finally completed, with a smiling Rodgers arriving at the Jets training facility.

“Obviously, we’re comfortable with how this deal shaped,” Jets GM Douglas said Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone ever walks away from a negotiation where you feel like you won everything in terms of what’s gone back and forth. But ultimately, our goal from the beginning was to add Aaron to the team, so we were able to get that. We agreed to terms yesterday and we’re just excited to bring him here.”

It was also confirmed on Wednesday that Rodgers would be wearing his old college number, 8, with the Jets after 17 seasons as the Packers’ number 12. The ‘12’ jersey had been retired by the Jets, in honour of legendary quarterback Joe Namath, and whilst ‘Broadway Joe’ offered to unretire the number for Rodgers, the signal caller confirmed that he wouldn’t be taking him up on that:

“I heard what he said about unretiring his number, but to me, 12 is Broadway Joe. I didn’t even want to go down that path, and I’m excited to go back to my college number.”

Rodgers joins the Jets as one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. He is a Super Bowl champion and MVP (XLV), a four-time first-team All-Pro, a ten-time Pro Bowler and a four-time NFL MVP award winner. He has over 59,000 yards and 475 touchdowns to his name, and is widely regarded as one of the best to play the position and a future Hall of Famer.

He will team up with an exciting crop of young Jets stars, led by All-Pro Quinnen Williams, Rookies of the Year Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson and former teammate Allen Lazard. Rodgers will also have a familiar face in the facility in Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who teamed up with the quarterback between 2019-2021 as OC of the Packers.

We’re counting down the days now until the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, and here at New York Jets UK we want to make sure you don’t miss a second of the action.

What is the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft is an annual event, which provides the most common route into the league for new players. Eligible players must be at least three years removed from high school, with the overwhelming majority of players selected out of the US collegiate system.

Since 2015, the location of the draft has changed each year, with the 2023 edition taking place in Kansas City, Missouri. Since 2010, the draft has been a three day event, starting on a Thursday and ending on a Saturday.

Teams are given a position in the draft order in reverse of their win-loss record from the previous season, meaning the worst team in the league picks first and the Super Bowl champion picks 32nd.

Teams can trade picks, either for current players on a different team and/or to try to accumulate a greater quantity of picks belonging to other teams. The draft comprises of seven rounds, with around 250 total players selected, depending on the exact number of ‘compensatory picks’ which changes each year.

What time is the NFL Draft?

The first two days of the draft take place at night in the United States, making it the early hours of the morning for fans here in the UK.

Round 1 starts at 8pm Eastern Time on Thursday 27th April, which is 1am British Summer Time on Friday morning here in the UK. There is no exact timing for when each round finishes, as teams get up to 10 minutes to make their selection, but it typically takes close to three hours.

Rounds 2 and 3 will start at 7pm Eastern Time on Friday 28th, which is midnight for fans in the UK.

The final day, including rounds 4-7, will start at 12pm Eastern Time on Saturday 29th, which is 5pm for fans in the UK.

When do the Jets make their selections?

Round 1, Pick 13

Round 2, Pick 42

Round 2, Pick 43

Round 4, Pick 112

Round 5, Pick 143

Round 6, Pick 207

It is officially three weeks to go until the NFL Draft kicks off in Kansas City! Whilst the Jets don’t have the two top-10 picks they had one year ago, excitement is still high as the team looks to the college ranks for some new additions to the roster.

In 2022, of course, the team selected Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson with their first two picks and the results could not have turned out much better. Two Rookie of the Year awards, numerous franchise rookie records shattered and a foundation for the future of both the offence and defence seemingly installed.

That pair of draft picks may end up going down in history as two of the best that the green and white ever made, but before we jump the gun on the two young stars,

5 – Darrelle Revis – Cornerback – 2007 NFL Draft – #14 Overall

Darrelle Revis will get his well deserved moment in the sunshine in Canton, Ohio later this year when he is officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This comes on the heels of his induction into the Jets Ring of Honor, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks ever to play the game.

The Jets actually traded up to get Revis in 2007, moving from 25th overall to 14th in order to snap up their lockdown corner. They would trade up again in the second round, to select linebacker David Harris, and the pair would go on to form the backbone of the elite Jets defence that took them to back-to-back Championship games in 2009 and 2010.

4 – Mark Gastineau – Defensive End – 1979 NFL Draft – #41 Overall

A member of the famed New York Sack Exchange and one of the most iconic New York Jets of all time, Mark Gastineau played for 10 seasons with the Jets and set an NFL record in 1984 with 22 sacks – a record that would stand for 17 years.

Gastineau wasn’t even the first Jets defensive line selection in the 1979 draft. Their first round pick was used on Marty Lyons, who would join Gastineau in forming the Jets fabled defensive front. It was a franchise-altering draft for the Jets, but the jewel was undoubtedly Gastineau who is one of the best second round draft picks in NFL history.

3 – Wesley Walker – Wide Receiver – 1977 NFL Draft – #33 Overall

One of the best receivers in franchise history, Walker spent his entire 12-year career with the New York Jets, racking up 8,306 yards and 71 touchdowns – both second in team history behind the legendary Don Maynard.

A second round selection at number 33 overall, Walker represented incredible value given the impact he had on the team over the course of his career. But he wasn’t the only selection from the 1977 draft to leave a lasting legacy with the Jets…

2 – Joe Klecko – Defensive End – 1977 NFL Draft – #144 Overall

Joe Klecko will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Darrelle Revis later this year, 36 years after his final game as a New York Jet. Another member of the New York Sack Exchange, Klecko didn’t receive the acclaim that Gastineau did but had the longevity and the consistency to become an all-time Jets great.

The fact that he was drafted in the sixth round, at 144th overall, just adds to his extraordinary legacy. An inner-circle Jets legend selected at such a late point in the draft makes him an undoubted top pick in Jets drafting history.

1 – Joe Namath – Quarterback – 1965 AFL Draft – #1 Overall

We are cheating slightly here, as Namath was selected in the AFL Draft, which took place at the same time as the NFL Draft, a few years before the AFL-NFL merger. But few players can be said to have had such a profound impact on the Jets or indeed the league as a whole.

Selected as the top pick in 1965, Namath took just two years to become the first professional quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards – a record that stood for 12 years – and he famously guided the Jets to their first, and to date only, Super Bowl title, upsetting the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Holder of numerous franchise records, Namath more than lived up to this billing as the number one selection.

Get in touch with us on Twitter to let us know what you make of the list and which players you most fondly remember being drafted by the Jets during your time as a fan. We will be checking in on social media each Monday with our prospect profiles and publishing new draft articles every Wednesday too – stay tuned!

New York Jets tight end CJ Uzomah took part in a major event in London earlier this month, where he and Chase Claypool of the Chicago Bears helped to launch the first ever NFL Girls Flag Football League in the United Kingdom.

The new league will see the two NFL franchises represented by various schools throughout a spring tournament, exclusively for young women.

Speaking at the event, Uzomah said: “To be able to spread [American] football overseas is great, I think football is the best sport in the world and to get women involved is amazing.

“I know the Jets, two years ago, started sponsoring eight flag teams and now it’s 162 I want to say. Over that span of two years, it’s exploded exponentially and that’s what we want to do over here.

“I’m very excited that I have been able to be a part of this process.”

The growth of American Football in the UK has been getting bigger year on year, especially with the international series held at both the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley.

Although, this unveiling of a Girls Flag league will continue to help the sport grow and will also go a long way in Britain, and it’s something Uzomah thinks is already ‘perceived’ well here.

The Jets number 87 said: “I was a little stunned at the boos when I went to watch my team Chelsea play, but it’s amazing to see how our sport and the one I think is the best in the world perceived so well over here.

“As well as how the NFL is over here now, I think it’s important in general. I got to talk to Fran Kirby [Chelsea Women’s player] a little bit while on my trip in London and we talked about how each nation uses their schooling as a pathway to sport.

“Just in terms of getting all aspects of sport out there and accessible for women is amazing and some of my favourite athletes are female sports players.”

The creation of the Flag league gives girls equal opportunities to access American football and know that they can play it if they want to and Uzomah insists it’s ‘huge’ for females, for the sport and for the international growth of the game generally.

“Yeah, I think it’s huge,” said Uzomah.

“I mean don’t get me wrong I wasn’t born into this lifestyle, I didn’t grow up here, so I’m not sure how everything works but in terms of what I call soccer, you go through academy.

“When I was young, I was able to pick a part, put on some boots and just play. We had different leagues in different areas, where you could just throw a kid in.

“For the most part in the UK, you usually must go through that academy system. I remember when I was younger, I was used to seeing boys playing on one field and girls playing on another, that’s what I grew up with.

“That’s why it’s such an important event and it’s important to me that we are doing this because you don’t really see that with Football.

“It’s amazing that in the two-year span in and around the New York area, we have 162 teams now. To be able to grow that, even just half of that here is massive.

“When we come over here, we don’t have a great amount of time so it’s amazing. To be here now to spread the news about the best sport ever is amazing.”

Moving away from the event itself, the former Bengal spoke about how much he enjoys the international series of games the NFL holds in both the UK and Germany.

Uzomah said: “I think it’s huge, the fact that Chase [Claypool] is over here, the fact that – the more players you get involved in them is great.

“The series has stretched to Germany now. I pray that I can play in Germany, I think that’s just brilliant. We also have a game in Mexico, so I think things like that are just great for the sport and for the growth of it over here.

“The beautiful game as you call your football is played globally because all you need is a ball and a couple of goals. So, I think as long as we keep pushing the conversation as a league, I think the sky’s the limit for our sport.

“The Jets just had me at, ‘do you want to go over to London?’ Then, as soon as I had the details as to why, I knew about the expansion and the 162 flag teams we sponsor and I had heard of the idea the Jets had, but once we got into the details, I was like you want me to go over.

“I am truly honoured, and I’ve not taken my time over here for granted at all. I’ve got to go to a lot of different cool events, but I know why I have been here, that focus has never left my mind.

“This has been the most memorable trip I’ve had.”

It’s Fan Friday folks! Anything going on lately…?!

It’s been a historic week for the Jets here in the United Kingdom, as they announced the launch of a joint Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag League – the first ever girls-only flag league on this side of the pond.

At an awesome event in London on International Women’s Day, speakers including CJ Uzomah, Chase Claypool, Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter discussed women’s participation in sport and how the league will look to improve opportunities for young women getting started on their NFL journey.

Find out more on our Girls Flag page listed above, and there will be plenty more content to come from CJ’s visit to our shores!

We also have a brand new sweepstakes live on our website – check out the Fan Zone for your chance to win a limited edition helmet signed by all four Jets Pro Bowlers: Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley and Justin Hardee.

Anything we’re missing from this week? 🤔

Let’s get stuck into our latest Fan Friday feature, which profile John, a long-time Jets fan from Northamptonshire!

• Name: John Tyas
• Twitter handle: N/A
• Location in UK: Rushton, Northamptonshire
• Jets fan since: Jets fan since 1965, when my family arrived in New York having emigrated from England.
• First Jets memory: My first Jets memory was being given a Jets uniform, including shoulder pads and helmet for Christmas that year.
• Favourite Jets memory: My favourite Jets memory was watching Joe Willie and the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, on our first black and white TV set!
• Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: Never been to Metlife, but I watched the Jets at Wembley Stadium in 2015 in London when they beat the Fins, and again in 2021 when they lost to the Falcons.
• Favourite current Jet (and why?): I am so pumped about the 2021 rookie class, it’s hard to pick a favourite, but I also have a lot of respect for Q and CJ!
• Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): All time has got to be Joe Willie Namath. He’s the first Jet I remember. I left NY in 1972, and lost touch with the Jets until NFL games started to appear on TV here in 1981. I was an expert then, and got asked a lot about it as it was so popular…now there are fans here that know more about the game than me!

Thanks to John for taking the time to answer our questions and for his amazing long-time support of the Jets!

For anyone who would like to be featured, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below! Have a great weekend!