HC Robert Saleh addresses challenges of Jets' unique schedule

Before the New York Jets thrashed the New England Patriots to the tune of 24-3 this past Thursday night, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers acknowledged that having to open the season with three games in 11 days was "definitely tough on the body." 

Jets head coach Robert Saleh understands few will feel sorry for his club regardless of the challenges it will face related to its unique schedule. 

"The messaging has been the same," Saleh told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated for a piece published Sunday night. "At the end of the day, we can complain about the schedule or we can attack the schedule. Because the reality is nobody really cares about how you got to game day, they don’t care about what you got going on in your personal life, they don’t care about your body, they don’t care about what’s hurting. They don’t care. Nobody cares." 

The Jets had to fly out to California for a Week 1 "Monday Night Football" matchup at the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers that Gang Green lost, 32-19. Following New York's 24-17 Week 2 win at the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 15, the Jets welcomed the Patriots to MetLife Stadium for what became a Thursday night laugher. 

New York hosts the 1-2 Denver Broncos this coming Sunday before the Jets head to London to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5. New York then has back-to-back prime-time games before a Week 8 clash in New England on Oct. 27 that precedes the Jets' Week 9 home game against the Houston Texans scheduled for Halloween night. 

"All that people care about is how you show up on Sunday, how you perform," Saleh continued. "So the focus has been, attack every single day to help yourself be your best on Sunday. And I think going through this and understanding the extra that needs to take place to get yourself ready to play, especially on short weeks and traveling back-to-back, and all things that we went through over the first few weeks, I think it’ll help later."

It also helps that Rodgers, who appeared a bit rusty over the season's first two weeks coming off the torn Achilles he suffered last September, looked more like his old self against New England. In total, he completed 27-of-35 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns in the 21-point victory over the Patriots. 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the 2-1 Jets as massive 7.5-point favorites against Denver. With that said, the Broncos showed the NFL community on Sunday they need to be taken seriously by opponents each week.