There are two schools of New York Jets fans as the team comes out of its bye week and prepares to host the Seattle Seahawks today. One side has embraced the futility and would prefer to see the team improve its draft position. The other side refuses to give up on this team’s playoff hopes until they are officially gone. (There is also a third group that has succumbed to total apathy.)
Regardless of which side you’re on, I have the perfect rooting guide to follow as you peek at the scoreboard ticker running across the bottom of the Jets-Seahawks broadcast. Heck, some of you may have already downgraded the Jets from fullscreen privileges to YouTube TV multiview status. In that case, here are some games you might want to add to your multiview, depending on which side of the fanbase you align with.
Pro-tank
The Jets enter Sunday in possession of the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. At 3-8, they are part of a four-team tie for No. 5 and have the second-worst strength of schedule out of those four teams, trailing only Carolina.
New York is 1.5 games back of the league-worst Giants and Raiders (2-10), who have already both lost this week. They are one game back of the Jaguars at No. 3 (2-9) and a half-game back of the Patriots at No. 4 (3-9). Basically, there is a lot of potential for the Jets to rise if they continue struggling.
Here is how the top 10 shakes out going into Sunday’s games.
- NY Giants (2-10 / .534 strength of schedule)
- Las Vegas (2-10 / .534)
- Jacksonville (2-9 / .492)
- New England (3-9 / .458)
- Carolina (3-8 / .485)
- NY Jets (3-8 / .500)
- Tennessee (3-8 / .503)
- Cleveland (3-8 / .515)
- Chicago (4-8 / .564)
- New Orleans (4-7 / .495)
If you want to see the Jets’ draft position improve, these are the teams to root for this week.
Tennessee (3-8) over @Washington (7-5): The Jets currently hold a marginal SOS lead over the Titans, but the two teams are neck-and-neck; Tennessee actually held the advantage prior to Thursday’s games. Every win by the Titans would be positive for the Jets’ draft position. The Commanders have lost three straight, while the Titans are 2-2 in their last four games.
@Jacksonville (2-9) over Houston (7-5): The Texans are 2-4 in their last six games and will be without Stefon Diggs for the season. They are also just 3-3 on the road, while Jacksonville is 2-3 at home (compared to 0-6 on the road). This divisional battle could absolutely be a tight one, and if Jacksonville pulls out the win, the door is open for New York to tie them in the standings and potentially jump them in the order if the SOS tiebreaker tilts.
@Carolina (3-8) over Tampa Bay (5-6): The Panthers won two games in a row before narrowly losing to Kansas City last week. Tampa Bay defeated the Giants last week, aiming to start a run against a soft back half of their schedule after starting the season with a hellish schedule through 10 games.
Monday Night Football – Cleveland (3-8) over @Denver (7-5): As we’ll talk about in the next section, the MNF result matters for the Jets for multiple reasons, regardless of their result against Seattle today. If the Jets win against Seattle today, a loss by Denver will be pivotal for keeping their pipe-dream playoff hopes alive. Not only that, but it would also keep the Browns behind the Jets in the draft order.
Pro-tank fans can dream big today. If things break the right way, the Jets can climb as high as the No. 3 overall pick by the end of today.
Now let’s address the Jets’ fading playoff hopes for those who are still clinging onto them.
Pro-run-the-table
Now with eight losses, the Jets’ outlook for the playoffs is quite clear: Running the table is the only option to have any sort of chance, and even then, they will need quite a bit of help to get in.
Even if the Jets win out, the New York Times playoff simulator gives the Jets a mere 28% chance of getting the help they need to make the playoffs. However, with the best-case results this week, that number can rise as high as 50% before Week 14 kicks off. On the other hand, that number can drop as low as 12% with the worst-case results, putting the Jets on the brink of elimination even if they continue winning.
Here are the results to root for this week if you are hell-bent on orchestrating perhaps the most magical run to the playoffs in NFL history.
@Falcons (6-5) over Chargers (7-4) – Boosts NYJ chances at 9-8 by 7%: The Jets’ head-to-head loss to Denver means it would be preferable if the Chargers kept losing and fell into the seventh seed. New York and Los Angeles do not play each other this year, which means a potential tiebreaker would come down to conference record, followed by common games if they tie in conference record.
@Bengals (4-7) over Steelers (8-3) – Boosts NYJ chances at 9-8 by 5%: It might seem counterproductive to root for the Bengals, but the New York Times simulator insists that a Bengals win would boost the Jets’ chances. My guess is that it would be more ideal for the Jets to enter a tiebreaker scenario against the Bengals than any other wild card competitors, as there is no head-to-head matchup between the two teams while New York currently owns a better conference record (3-5 vs. 2-5). Just trust the math here. Cincinnati winning is the better outcome.
@Patriots (3-9) over Colts (5-6) – Boosts NYJ chances at 9-8 by 4%: The Jets’ pipe dream hopes would have been much less unfathomable if they had just finished off the win over Indianapolis last week. Choking that game away was probably the final nail in their coffin, as now they have to deal with not one but two wild card competitors who have a head-to-head win over them.
Eagles (9-2) over @Ravens (8-4) – Boosts NYJ chances at 9-8 by 3%: The impact here is relatively small compared to the other games, but it is worth noting nonetheless. Although a Ravens collapse is unlikely, they only have one fewer conference loss than the Jets and do not face them head-to-head, so Baltimore would be an appealing team for New York to meet in a tiebreaker at 9-8.
Browns (3-8) over @Broncos (7-5) – Boosts NYJ chances at 9-8 by 17%: This is easily the most pivotal game of the week for New York. The Broncos remain the primary team New York is chasing. The Jets’ best path to the playoffs is a total Broncos collapse in which they win less than two of their remaining five games to finish either 7-10 or 8-9. If Denver finishes with at least nine wins (meaning they only have to go 2-3 or better), the Jets are probably cooked even if they win out. At that point, their only hope would be if another team completely flamed out, like Los Angeles or Baltimore, and even then, they would have to hope Indianapolis stays out of the mix.
Whatever outcome you are rooting for this week, good luck, Jets fans.
