The Jets currently sit at 7-6 in a four-way tie for the sixth and final playoff spot, but because of tiebreakers they are behind all of the 7-6 teams. Now if the Jets want to make the playoffs they need to win out, but also need some help. With that in mind here is this week’s rooting guide:
Indianapolis over Jacksonville- The Colts appear to be playing their starters tonight and that’s a good thing as the Jets need the Jaguars to lose. In a perfect world the Colts would rest their starters at some point during the game and still win indicating that they will rest them next week against the Jets.
Tennessee over Miami- The Jets need the Dolphins to lose as they don’t have the tiebreaker over them. Fortunately, the Titans are still alive in the playoff hunt and will give it their all to keep their slim hopes alive.
Buffalo over New England- If Buffalo could spring the upset it would be huge for the Jets. Remember the Bills should have beaten the Patriots in week one and playing in Buffalo in December is never easy.
Chicago over Baltimore- With the way the Bears have been playing recently this doesn’t seem likely, but the Bears do have talent to do so and considering the way the Steelers have played recently this may be the best shot the Ravens have at losing.
Oakland over Denver- The Raiders have been the king of the upset this year taking down the Bengals, Eagles, and Steelers. While that gives them some hope, all of the upsets came at home and this week they’re playing in Denver with Charlie Frye at the helm.
Cincinnati over San Diego- This is the most interesting game of the weekend. If the Bengals win then they will hold the tiebreaker over the Chargers. Then a win next week and a Chargers loss will clinch the second seed for the Bengals and then they might rest their starters in week 17 against the Jets. The other scenario is that the Bengals collapse, lose their next two games and stumble into a week 17 game against a red hot Jets team. The first scenario is more likely to happen, so I’ll be rooting for the Bengals.
Houston over St. Louis- This isn’t as important as the other games, but the Texans do play the Dolphins and Patriots in the last two weeks and a win this week will keep them hanging around as they play to save their coach’s job.
Pittsburgh over Green Bay- Similar to the Texans, the Steelers play the Dolphins and Ravens the last two weeks of the season and if they lose this week they may decide to shut down some of their starters for the season.