Saints host New York Jets in first matchup between two teams in four years

Andrew Lang

The New Orleans Saints host the New York Jets at noon Dec. 21 with the broadcast on CBS. The New Orleans Saints and Jets have played 14 games with the Saints leading the all-time series 8-6. The Saints are 3-3 in home matchups and 5-3 in games on the road.

Let's take a deeper look at the Saints'Week 16opponent, the New York Jets:

2025 NFL WEEK 13: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS vs NEW YORK JETS

TICKETS|HOW TO WATCH|FULL SCHEDULE|STADIUM INFO

Meet your Saints opponent: New York Jets

Coach:Aaron Glenn

Quarterback:Justin Fields

2024 record:5-12, third in AFC East

Most recent regular season matchup:Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 - Saints 30, Jets 9

Jets-Saints series record:Saints lead 8-6

New York Jets 2024 season recap:

The Jets opened the season 2-3 and would make a change at head coach following that start, dismissing Robert Saleh and promoting Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach. Despite sitting at 2-5 in Week 7, the Jets made a trade to add wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders. Neither move would not lead to a turnaround as the Jets went 1-5 after promoting Ulbrich to head into their bye in Week 12 at 3-8. The Jets would go 2-4 down the stretch to finish the season 5-12, third in the AFC East, missing the postseason for the 14th straight season.

Deep Dive: New York Jets roster review

1. Justin Fields reunites with former teammate Garrett Wilson

The Jets brought in Justin Fields to be the signal caller in 2025, reuniting him with former Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson. Fields is coming off a season with the Steelers where he recorded six starts going 4-2 and throwing for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns to only one interception. He also added 289 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Wilson had his third straight 1,000+ yard receiving season to start his NFL career in 2024 with 1,104 yards on a career high 101 receptions and seven touchdowns.

"It's someone that I'm familiar with, someone that I have a great relationship with, someone that I love just watching him play,"Wilson said. "Since I've met Justin, it's been a pleasure to lineup alongside of him. And then when I'm on the sideline, I just got to watch him. His first play at Ohio State touching the ball, he went 60, 70 yards running down the pipe of the defense for a touchdown. That's the type of stuff that sticks with me with Justin and so I didn't think we'd get this opportunity on this level. It's exciting, I'm still taking it in all the way. It's cool, it's cool. We've been definitely picking up where we left off."

2. Continue building offensive line in NFL Draft

For the second year in a row, the Jets used their first selection in the NFL Draft to improve the offensive line, selecting tackle Armand Membou with the seventh overall pick, the second offensive lineman off the board. Membou played in 35 games with the University of Missouri. The right tackle has impressed in the offseason program.

"Membou's doing outstanding,"said Aaron Glenn, Jets head coach. "He's working his butt off. He's learning every day, too."

After selecting tackle Olu Fashanu 11th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Jets are hoping they have locked down the tackle position for the future.

3. Youth movement underway in New York

The Jets chose to get younger in the offseason, currently having the second youngest roster in football after fielding the 29th oldest roster in 2024. The Jets have only three players over the age of 30, quarterback Tyrod Taylor, long snapper Thomas Hennessy and wide receiver Josh Reynolds, down from 12 in the 2024 season. Glenn said some advice earlier in his career from Saints executive Jeff Ireland informed the offseason.

"You can't be afraid of the young player and we trust the players that we have,"Glenn said. "So regardless of their age, we're going to put them out there and let them play."