The Jacksonville Jaguars’ current strength of schedule tiebreaker lead over the New York Jets is now at a near-insurmountable point.
Three-fourths of a season is child’s play as it relates to Trevor Lawrence. Twelve losses can’t even get it done. The 0-12 New York Jets haven’t won a game, and they still can’t feel secure in their No. 1 draft status in the next NFL draft.
Although the Jacksonville Jaguars are one game behind in the tank standings, the Jets and their fans can only look at the lead as a half-game difference.
The strength of schedule tiebreaker race is all but over, which means a tie between the Jets and Jags will go to the latter. It’s just that simple—unless a miracle occurs over the season’s final four weeks.
Week 13 saw the margin move from .037 to .050, which means the Jets lost significant ground.
The Jets’ opponent overall record (all 16 games) currently stands at 115-77, which is 38 games above .500. This is up from 32 prior to last week. The Jags’ opponent overall record is 105-86-1 (19 games above .500, the same as last week). This means the overall margin in terms of games above .500 rose from 13 games to 19 games.
With just four weeks remaining, the Jets’ odds in making up that margin is slim to none. So, the tank standings need to be consumed with the idea that a 0.5 game lead over the Jags is the reality.
New York’s next three opponents are playoff-caliber teams. Beating the Seahawks in Seattle, Rams in Los Angeles, or the Cleveland Browns at home will be a tall task. The Week 17 matchup against a New England Patriots team that may have very little to play for remains the one to circle on the calendar as it relates to No. 16.
