Understanding New York Jets history and the struggle it’s been, the team they call Gang Green will probably beat the Buffalo Bills.
When one thinks of New York Jets history over the last 20 years, most notably since the Bill Parcels era, things aren’t so gloomy.Over the last 20 seasons, the Jets have qualified for the NFL Playoffs seven times. More impressive is the fact that the franchise has only suffered through six losing seasons during the same span. Obviously, other franchises have struggled to a much higher degree in recent memory.
This is why that friendly little tagline of “Same Old Jets” doesn’t hold true as much as it used to.
For those old-school Jets fans, however, the last 20 years can’t touch the last half-century.
No Super Bowl appearances and only 12 tournament appearances since 1969 have Jets fans saying, “Oh, the pain,” as one Joe Benigno of WFAN so famously spouts off from time to time when thinking about his beloved NFL franchise. And for those in the age bracket Benigno’s currently floating around in life in, you may already know your team’s fate in Week 17.
Knowing this franchise, you almost already know that they’ll defeat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at MefLife Stadium on New Year’s Day.
Think about it. It’s perfect. It’d be so Jet-like.
With a record of 4-11, only four NFL teams have worse records and one squad equals the Jets mark.
The Los Angeles Rams are also 4-11 while the 1-14 Cleveland Browns, 2-13 San Francisco 49ers, 3-12 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the 3-12 Chicago Bears are the teams with worse records. The only 5-10 team in the league is the San Diego Chargers, but they don’t factor into the Jets fate due to the tiebreaker. The Cincinnati Bengals currently boast a 5-9-1 record and have no shot of jumping the Jets.
Therefore, New York is guaranteed to hold a top-six pick in 2017 NFL Draft. They’re currently in the sixth slot thanks to a tiebreaker the Rams hold against them — a tiebreaker that won’t change.
The No. 3 overall pick sounds extremely nice to the ears.
The way tiebreakers work, when determining draft order, is strictly based on strength of schedule. The Jets are currently tied for seventh in the league with an opponents’ win percentage of .531. Topping the list are the 49ers with a .555 mark.
The one-win Browns and the two-win 49ers are out of the Jets reach. Unless something crazy happens on Sunday, these two franchises will choose one-two in the draft, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks as Week 17 opponents.
The Chicago Bears take on the 7-8 Vikings in Minnesota. Should Chicago win and the Jets lose, the Bears will suddenly be leapfrogged by Gang Green. The Jacksonville Jaguars take on the 7-8 Colts in Indianapolis. Should the Jags win and the Jets lose, yet again, another team would leapfrog the Jets in draft order.
The Rams take on a struggling Cardinals team in the desert. If the Rams, Bears and Browns all win, a Jets loss would fetch the franchise a No. 3 draft slot.
A loss to the Rex Ryan-less Bills could do this organization wonders come spring time. Instead of a No. 6 pick — which would come via victory — an extremely valuable No. 3 selection (or No. 4 if the Rams lose) would be on the docket for Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan.
And yes, three or even two slots in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft makes a world of difference in terms of value. Obviously, great players are littered across the board, but that extra value in each round would be nice.
But, alas, these are the Jets and we already know they’ll win a most meaningless game against the Bills this Sunday. Moreover, they’ll win with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, a guy who’s disappointed so greatly this season that he may just go for 400 yards and four scores to cap off this horrid and forgettable season.
There isn’t any reason to even watch the game. You already know the Jets will win and they’ll be picking No. 6 in the 2017 NFL Draft.
