To tank or not to tank, that is the question.
What’s not a question is whether the New York Jets would benefit from their draft-race rivals winning games.
The answer is yes, even if you are an anti-tank Jets fan.
With the 2-8 Jets sitting on their couches for Week 11’s Sunday action, Jets fans will get a chance to enjoy some tank-motivated rooting without guilt.
Here is how the top of the draft order looks going into Sunday’s games.
- Tennessee Titans (1-8, .571 SOS)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8, .497 SOS)
- New York Jets (2-8, .509 SOS)
- New York Giants (2-8, .543 SOS)
- Cleveland Browns (2-7, .472 SOS)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-7, .559 SOS)
- Miami Dolphins (3-7, .500 SOS)
- Washington Commanders (3-7, .516 SOS)
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-6, .503 SOS)
- Los Angeles Rams, via Atlanta Falcons (3-6, .512 SOS)
Here are the outcomes for Jets fans to root for this afternoon.
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The 1-8 Titans’ only win came back in Week 5, when they were the beneficiaries of a colossal self-inflicted implosion by the Arizona Cardinals. Besides that gift-wrapped one-point victory, Tennessee has hardly even flirted with the idea of winning, losing their eight games by an average of 16 points.
Today, the Titans will host the 4-5 Texans, led by Davis Mills as C.J. Stroud remains in concussion protocol. With the Texans favored by only 5.5 points at some sportsbooks, this about as good of a chance to win as the horrific Titans will get.
For the Jets, Tennessee is not necessarily the most critical draft rival to keep an eye on, as the Titans already drafted a franchise quarterback in 2025, Cam Ward. They are unlikely to select a quarterback with their 2026 first-round pick.
However, there is always a possibility that Tennessee could trade down, allowing another quarterback-needy team to leapfrog the Jets, or perhaps forcing the Jets into giving up extra assets to move into Tennessee’s slot. That’s why it would still be valuable for the Jets’ future if Tennessee were to start winning some games.
@Giants (2-8) over Packers
We all knew it was coming at some point: “Famous Jameis” has taken the reins for Big Blue. He’ll be tasked with leading the Giants in a home battle against the underperforming Packers, who have lost two straight and claimed just three victories in their last seven games.
Like Tennessee, the Giants will not be taking a quarterback in 2026, as they are already committed to 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart. The same logic applies, though. The more teams that leap ahead of the Jets, the more competition they will have on the trade market.
@Browns (2-7) over Ravens
Unlike the Titans and Giants, the Browns absolutely need a quarterback and will probably jump at the opportunity to take one early in the 2026 draft. For that reason, the Jets need to stay ahead of Cleveland on the board if they want to maximize their options at the quarterback position.
The Jets’ Week 10 win over Cleveland was a pivotal one in the draft race. Flip the outcome, and the Jets would currently own the first pick, while Cleveland would be ninth. Instead, the Browns are now within striking distance of leaping the Jets.
The Browns are especially threatening to the Jets due to their strength of schedule. Currently boasting a .472 SOS, the Browns are comfortably ahead of the Jets (.509), giving them a strong chance of winning a potential tiebreaker. There is time for that gap to close, but Cleveland will likely jump ahead of the Jets by the end of today if they lose to the Ravens at home, falling to 2-8.
Keep in mind:
- Strength of schedule is the first tiebreaker for the draft order
- Strength of schedule (as displayed in draft-order rankings) is calculated using all 17 games on a team’s schedule, not just the ones they’ve played so far
As 8.5-point home underdogs against the red-hot Ravens, it would be surprising if the Browns won today, but the AFC North is known for its gritty battles and shocking upsets. Cleveland has defeated Green Bay at home this year, so anything is possible.
MNF: Raiders (2-7) over Cowboys (3-6-1)
It isn’t a Sunday game, but I threw it in here anyway.
On Monday Night Football, Jets fans would love to see a Raiders victory to keep the 2-7 squad away from tying New York in the draft order. With a struggling, aging Geno Smith at quarterback, the Raiders are certainly in the market for a franchise signal-caller.
The good news is that the Jets are far ahead of the Raiders in the SOS tiebreaker, so Las Vegas would probably have to finish with an outright worse record to earn the higher pick.
Bonus round: SOS-related games
With many teams involved in the race for the top pick, it’s time to start thinking about potential tiebreaking scenarios.
The Jets’ .509 SOS puts them in a middling spot amongst the league’s bottom-feeders. They are far ahead of the 1-8 Titans (.571), the 2-8 Giants (.543), and the 2-7 Raiders (.559), but must close some ground on the 2-8 Saints (.497) and the 2-7 Browns (.472) to win a potential tiebreaker in the draft order.
Here are the Week 11 outcomes that would help the Jets close their SOS gap with the Saints and Browns.
Saints:
- TB over BUF (Worth 1.0 game)
- WAS over MIA (0.5)
- NYG over GB (0.5)
- LAC over JAX (0.5)
- TEN over HOU (0.5)
- CHI over MIN (0.5)
- KC over DEN (0.5)
- LV over DAL (0.5)
Browns:
- LV over DAL (1.0)
- WAS over MIA (0.5)
- GB over NYG (0.5)
- LAC over JAX (0.5)
- SF over ARI (0.5)
- KC over DEN (0.5)
- DET over PHI (0.5)
The good news for New York is that a Tennessee win over Houston would help them gain ground on both the Saints and the Browns in the SOS tiebreaker race, which means Jets fans have three reasons to root for a Tennessee win.
Unfortunately, regardless of the outcome, the Giants-Packers game will cause the Jets to gain ground on one team but lose ground on the other. However, if the Browns defeat Baltimore to distance themselves from the Jets in the standings, it would be preferable for the Giants to win, allowing the Jets to gain ground on their fiercer rival in the Saints, who have a bye week and will enter Week 12 at 2-8.
On Monday Night Football, a Raiders win would be extremely beneficial for the Jets. Not only are the Raiders a budding rival at 2-7 (although the Jets have a massive SOS advantage), but a Las Vegas win would help the Jets close their SOS gap on both the Saints and the Browns.
There you have it, Jets fans. Happy rooting!
Primary outcomes to root for:
- Titans over Texans (1 p.m. EST)
- Giants over Packers (1 p.m. EST)
- Browns over Ravens (4:25 p.m. EST)
- MNF: Raiders over Cowboys (8:15 p.m. EST)
