Looking at the wreckage from Sunday, perhaps those of us who declared the Jets dead were wrong.
"First off, I was dead wrong in the playoff scenario,’’ Ryan said. "You would think that the head coach of the team would know the (playoff) situations. I thought we had to win out. We had a single focus that we were going to have to win six straight games (after the 4-6 start).
"We don’t (just) have a possibility, we have a huge possibility _ if we’ll win out _ that we can be in the playoffs. We’re actually in a better situation right now, this week, than we were last week at this time. That’s unbelievable. We’re there. We’ve got a chance. To make the playoffs and, hey, we’re going for it.
It's surely a long shot, but I can't help but think back to 2002. Remember, the Jets also had an inexplicable heartbreaking loss that year to the Bears to fall 7-7. Everybody thought they were dead in the water there. The last two games seemed unwinnable. Week 16 brought a trip to the defending champion Patriots, a team that had demolished the Jets earlier in that season. Following that was a home game against Brett Favre and a Packers team that was battling for the best record in the NFC. The Jets scored a pair of convincing wins.
Things look bleak now for sure, but things can turn around very quickly in the NFL. Surely a team with the league's top ranked defense and rushing game has a prayer even against the unbeaten Colts and first place Bengals. Wouldn't you agree?