Aaron Rodgers may not have been the New York Jets’ savior himself, but the future Hall-of-Famer might have just helped his former team move one step closer to finding the prince who is promised.

Jet X readers learned on Monday why the prime-time clash between Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins was a crucial one for New York’s hopes of nabbing a franchise quarterback. In the end, Jets fans got the result they wanted.

Rodgers and the Steelers cruised to a 28-15 win over a Dolphins team that continues to freeze in the December cold. Not only was it fun for Jets fans to see perhaps their most despised rivals officially extend their playoff-winless streak to 25 seasons, but the Dolphins’ loss helped improve the Jets’ stock in the NFL draft standings.

With Miami’s loss and Pittsburgh’s victory, the Jets added two losses (via playing Miami twice) and one win to their strength of schedule, lowering their SOS from .538 to .536. This dropped the Jets’ SOS into a dead-lock tie with that of the 2-12 Giants, who lead the 3-11 Jets by just one game in the race for the first overall pick. It means that the Jets’ odds of winning a potential draft tiebreaker with Big Blue just got a little bit stronger.

The Jets also created further separation in the SOS department from the other two 2-12 teams, Las Vegas (.548) and Tennessee (.576). New York has a likely chance of winning the tiebreaker over both teams. Meanwhile, thanks to the Steelers’ win, the Jets are now tied with the Giants in SOS, meaning it’s a toss-up as to who would win a potential tiebreaker. If the Dolphins had won, the Giants would have taken a one-game advantage.

Here is how the draft standings are shaping up with three weeks to go:

  1. New York Giants: 2-12 (.536 SOS)
  2. Las Vegas Raiders: 2-12 (.548)
  3. Tennessee Titans: 2-12 (.576)
  4. Cleveland Browns: 3-11 (.485)
  5. New York Jets: 3-11 (.536)
  6. Arizona Cardinals: 3-11 (.571)
  7. New Orleans Saints: 4-10 (.492)
  8. Washington Commanders: 4-10 (.506)
  9. Cincinnati Bengals: 4-10 (.523)
  10. LA Rams via Atlanta: 5-9 (.500)

Happy tanking, pro-tank Jets fans!

And, hey, let’s not count the anti-tank Jets fans out of the fun. There’s still plenty for New York to play for. Hopefully, for the anti-tankers, the Jets’ firing of Steve Wilks sparks the team to an end-of-year run in which it plays spoiler to the rival Patriots and Bills in their AFC East race (similar to the Saints’ recent mockery of the NFC South leaders).

If the Jets can win out, they will exceed their preseason over-under of 5.5 wins that was posted at some sportsbooks (others had them at 6.5), which would be quite a promising accomplishment for Aaron Glenn after everything the team has been through. It would set a promising springboard for the franchise moving forward, even if it hurts the team’s draft position.

Everyone has the right to root for their team however they choose. There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to be a fan.

For the pro-tankers, though, everything is falling into place.