The Saints took the Patriots to the woodshed tonight, winning comfortably, 38-17.
The NE secondary at times looked lost and confused, and Brandon Meriweather was constantly getting beat over the top--- helping Drew Brees by giving up a barrage of big plays. Brees picked them apart via throwing 5 TD's to 5 different receivers.
So what does this mean for the Jets? Along with being tied w/ MIA for second-place in the division, the magic number to win the East has now dropped to 2 games.
Now, a banged-up NE team who just participated in a up-tempo game in the SuperDome, must head into MIA while coming off a short-week for what will surely be a physical game.....while the Jets travel to Toronto where both teams have minimal time to prepare for the matchup and also are both coming into the game with momentum after decisive wins. The Jets are entering the game as the favorite, and rightly so, they're clearly the more-talented team, and will look to avenge the shocking OT loss due to Sanchez's 5-INT performance last match-up.
As far as the Wild-Card race goes, the Jets are still alive as they remain two games behind Denver, and just one game behind Jax (how big is that loss now....). It is important to note that Denver has been a very hot & cold team this year, and what happens down the stretch is anyone's guess.
Jets Remaining Schedule: @ Buff, @TB, Vs ATL, @Indy, Vs Cincy
MIA Remaining Schedule: Vs NE, @Jax, @ Tenny, Vs Houston, Vs Pittsburgh
NE Remaining Schedule: @ MIA, Vs Carolina, @ Buff, Vs Jax, @ Houston
We all know history is not on the Jet's side, and many stars must align for them to sneak into the playoffs, but statistically, the season isn't over. Sure, going into the Colt's dome and looking for a victory is being optimstic, but it is Week 16 and hopefully Caldwell will rest some veterans on defense. Dungy had little interest in going undefeated when he was there and teams have learned from NE's 18-1 blunder.
For Jets fans, there's nothing wrong with a little scoreboard watching -- there are essentially eight wild-card teams battling for two spots, of which the two teams that currently occupy the berths (Denver and Jax) are certainly capable of choking down the stretch. Here's what the situation looks like at this point:
| 5 |
 Denver
|
West | 7-4-0 |
| 6 |
 Jacksonville
|
South | 6-5-0 |
| Still alive (below) | |||
| 7 |
 Baltimore
|
North | 6-5-0 |
| 8 |
 Pittsburgh
|
North | 6-5-0 |
| 9 |
 Miami
|
East | 5-6-0 |
| 10 |
 N.Y. Jets
|
East | 5-6-0 |
| 11 |
 Tennessee
|
South | 5-6-0 |
| 12 |
 Houston
|
South | 5-6-0 |