Examining New York Jets' Playoff Scenarios

For the New York Jets to make the playoffs, it's a simple four-word solution: win and you're in.

But what happens if the Jets don't win? What happens if Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan gets his ultimate revenge on the team that spurned him last year by handing them a loss that puts their playoff hopes in jeopardy?

Surely, Ryan would love nothing more than to remain the last head coach to take the Jets to the playoffs—at least for one more year. 

A loss would open the gate for the Pittsburgh Steelers to reclaim the playoff spot that they choked away in their embarrassing Week 16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

If the Jets lose and the Steelers win in Week 17, both teams would finish 10-6. The Steelers would get the tiebreaker because of their advantage against common opponents. Both teams played the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders this year; in this hypothetical, the Steelers would be 4-1 against those teams, while the Jets would be 3-2.

Joe Caporoso of Turn on the Jets puts it simply: 

But that only takes care of the in-or-out playoff scenario. What about their opponent?

Well, there's still a lot left to be determined at the top of the playoff race in the AFC. The New England Patriots have clinched a first-round bye, so there's no chance the Jets would face them in the wild-card round. 

It's still entirely possible, however, that the Jets could be traveling to face either the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans or Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round. If the season ended today, the Jets would take on the Bengals in Cincinnati during the first round of the playoffs.

A Bengals win in Week 17, coupled with a Broncos loss or tie, would mean the Jets would instead travel to Denver in the first round.

The only way the Jets would face the Texans in the first round would be if the Chiefs lose and the Jets win, which would give the Jets a record of 11-5 and the Chiefs a record of 10-6, making the Jets the fifth seed and the Chiefs the sixth seed.

The only way the Jets would face the Chiefs would be if the Broncos lose and the Chiefs win, which would make the Chiefs the AFC West champion. 

There's so much left to be determined, it's pointless for the Jets to worry about who they'll be playing in the first round. Right now, the only thing they can control is getting a win in Buffalo in Week 17. Everything else will sort itself out by the end of the day Sunday.