Whether you’re a proud tank commander or an unwavering optimist who will cling onto the New York Jets’ playoff hopes until they officially clinch a losing record, Sunday was not a great day for the boys in green.
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Regarding the Jets’ nearly-evaporated playoff hopes, their slim chances got even slimmer, as the seventh-seeded Broncos won yet again to move to 7-5. The Jets can still get to 9-8 if they win out, but to surpass Denver for the final playoff spot, they’d have to finish with an outright better record due to the Broncos’ head-to-head win in Week 4, and it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Denver fails to reach 9 wins.
Anyway, most of you probably don’t care about that. You’re here for the tanking news. Well, even that isn’t good.
We detailed yesterday how the Jets had the chance to get as high as the No. 2 pick if a bunch of unlikely results went their way. Most of those things didn’t happen. In fact, very little went the Jets’ way, causing them to fall one spot in the draft order. Here is a look at the top 10 of the 2025 NFL draft order after Week 12’s Sunday games:
- Jacksonville (2-9 / .495 SOS)
- NY Giants (2-9 / .526)
- Las Vegas (2-9 / .535)
- New England (3-9 / .468)
- Carolina (3-8 / .489)
- Tennessee (3-8 / .505)
- NY Jets (3-8 / .505)
- Cleveland (3-8 / .516)
- New Orleans (4-7 / .489)
- Cincinnati (4-7 / .492)
New York entered Sunday in possession of the sixth overall pick, but exited the day in the seventh spot (which is where they began Week 12 prior to Cleveland’s Thursday night win). Rival tankers New England, Las Vegas, the Giants, and Carolina all lost. The only positive outcome for New York’s tanking dreams was Tennessee’s victory, evening them up with the Jets at 3-8.
However, Tennessee actually stole the tiebreaker from New York after New York entered Sunday with the advantage. New York had a slightly lower SOS entering Sunday (.508 to .514), but the two teams are now tied with an identical .505 SOS. The next tiebreaker is head-to-head record, which means Tennessee “wins” (is the worse team) due to the Jets’ win over the Titans in Week 2. That pushes New York down to the seventh spot after they started the day in sixth.
In other Jets-related news, former Jets kicker Spencer Shrader made a game-winning field goal for the Chiefs, while former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold continued his magical year as he threw for a season-high 330 yards to lead Minnesota to 9-2. Packers offensive consultant and former Jets head coach Robert Saleh enjoyed a dominant 38-10 victory over another one of his former teams, the 49ers.
On top of it all, Sunday morning was highlighted by multiple new reports about the Jets’ dysfunction, including Woody Johnson’s arrival via helicopter to fire Joe Douglas and Aaron Rodgers’ refusal to take medical scans.
In positive news… Jets fans did not have to watch the Jets.
