AFC Playoff Picture: Jets in 10th Place in Conference After Week 9

Through nine weeks of the 2017 NFL season, the Jets find themselves in 10th place in the AFC with a 4-5 record. They are 1.5 games behind the Bills for the final Wild Card spot.

The good news is Thursday’s win over Buffalo probably kept the Jets alive to the extent they have Playoff aspirations. Falling to 3-6 and being swept by a competitor likely would have extinguished any hope.

The Jets still have a difficult road ahead if they want to make the postseason. They will need to leapfrog at least four teams to qualify. There is not much margin for error here.

There is a silver lining. The Jets are playing meaningful football in November. Yes, that is a very low bar to clear, but it still beat the expectations a lot of people had before the season started. There weren’t many people who thought the team would even be in this spot.

The current AFC standings are below.

1. Pittsburgh 6-2
2. New England 6-2
3. Kansas City 6-3
4. Tennessee 5-3
5. Jacksonville 5-3
6. Buffalo 5-3
7. Miami 4-4
8. Baltimore 4-5
9. Oakland 4-5
10. Jets 4-5
11. Houston 3-5
12. Cincinnati 3-5
13. Los Angeles 3-5
14. Denver 3-5
15. Indianapolis 3-6
16. Cleveland 0-8