Looking at the Jets Postseason Odds

Just looking at the title itself, it's remarkable the Jets are in a position of chasing teams to get a wild-card spot after struggling for most of October and November.

The Jets managed to win three in a row while other teams started stumbling. This paved the way for Gang Green to make a playoff push.

Rex Ryan must be ecstatic to be in this situation along with his players. It makes their games watchable for the next few weeks rather than seeing them play out the season.

Right now, the Jets are in the hunt. They are chasing the Jaguars, Ravens, Broncos, and the Dolphins with the Steelers playing themselves out of contention after losing to several inferior teams this season.

People can pencil the Broncos in the first wild-card spot since they play two teams playing for draft position in the Raiders and the Chiefs. Of course if the Broncos lose to the Raiders tomorrow at home, all bets are off, but it's hard to believe that's happening.

So it comes down to the last playoff spot.

Let's eliminate the Jaguars. They have been inconsistent all season, and they are a good bet to lose one more game down the stretch.

The Jets should focus their sights on the Ravens and the Dolphins. Those two teams will offer stiff competition for New York.

The Ravens have an easy schedule the rest of the way with the Bears, Steelers, and the Raiders. They can easily win three in a row, but if they can't, two in a row could be good enough for them to make the playoffs as the sixth seed.

They control their destiny so they know what they have to do.

The Dolphins are playing well at the right time. Everyone counted them out after a rough start and Chad Pennington’s injury, but Chad Henne played well enough to win and put the team in position to make the final two weeks count.

Their schedule is feasible to win games as they draw the Titans, Texans, and the Steelers. They could win three in a row too.

With that said, the Ravens schedule gives them the edge for a playoff spot.

The only way the Jets and the Dolphins qualify for the playoffs is winning the division, and that's going to be tough with the Patriots playing a schedule that is winnable for them with the Bills, Jaguars, and Texans on the docket.

Hard to believe the Patriots are going to choke, so forget the division.

The Jets will fall short just based on these scenarios.

Plus, the Jets schedule does not figure to be easy. They should beat the Falcons tomorrow, but the Colts and the Bengals will offer much stiffer competition.

The Colts know they are playing for history, trying to match the 1972 Dolphins with an undefeated season leading to a Super Bowl victory.

The Bengals would like to get a bye in the first round so expect them to play their best players.

It's hard to think this Jets defense will stop those two offensive juggernauts. The defense has played well lately, but it helps that they faced some porous offensive teams in Buffalo, Carolina, and Tampa Bay.
It does not make the final two weeks meaningless though. The Jets will certainly get national attention in their matchup with the Colts, and if they can somehow upset them, it's something to be proud of heading to the offseason.

Winning out can make next season interesting.

Right now, this team is more fun to watch than the Giants.

The Giants can talk about making the playoffs, but to be honest, they don't deserve to be there. They are only in it because of the Cowboys' struggles.

The Jets at least have an improving coach and an intriguingly young quarterback. The next two weeks will be a test to show just how much this squad has grown up heading into next year.

It's a credit to the coaching staff and the players that the Jets can finish the season with a winning record. It looked bleak after their loss to the Patriots.

The thought was the Jets would have a losing season, but that probably will not be the case.

At 7-6 and with an opportunity to win at least nine or 10 games, it would have to be a good season considering where the team was after what happened in Foxborough a few weeks ago.

The fact that anything can happen from now until the end of the year should be a good thing for a team. When a team comes out of training camp, they aspire to play in meaningful games in December.

That is where the Jets are right now.

These two weeks should matter even if it means sitting at home in January.