Jets' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 13
The New York Jets started Week 13 with a small celebration that the New England Patriots lost on Thursday night.
Robert Saleh’s team needs more help from the opponents of AFC wild-card contenders on Sunday to feel safe about its spot in the standings.
The Jets face a tough road trip to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. A loss could happen against the NFC’s No. 2 seed, so they need the teams around them to lose as well.
The good news for the Jets is that the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins face tough matchups against two of the NFL’s top teams, and the Los Angeles Chargers face a team suddenly on a winning run.
New York would love to leave Week 13 with a win and more security in the AFC wild-card race, but if a loss happens, it has to hope for no lost ground in the standings.
Chiefs over Bengals
1 of 3
The Jets need Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to go into Cincinnati and pick up a victory.
Cincinnati is ahead of the Jets on a head-to-head tiebreaker from Week 3.
As long as the Bengals and Jets have the same record, the Bengals will be ahead in the standings.
The Jets would love to beat Minnesota in Sunday’s early window and then watch Kansas City beat Cincinnati on the plane ride home.
In case a loss happens, the Jets need the Chiefs to win on the road to ensure the Bengals do not take what would be a two-game lead in the standings because of their head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Jets also need a Bengals loss because Cincinnati faces the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Patriots in the next three weeks, all of which are winnable games.
Raiders over Chargers
2 of 3
The Jets sit one game ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers in the hunt for the No. 7 seed.
New York and Los Angeles do not play each other this season, so conference record would be the first tiebreaker used if they finish on the same record.
The Jets are 5-4 in the AFC, while the Chargers have a 4-3 conference mark.
New York could use some help from the Las Vegas Raiders to drop the Chargers’ conference record and potentially open up a two-game gap for the No. 7 seed.
The Jets are already guaranteed to stay at least one game ahead of the Patriots. They could have that same edge on the Chargers if they drop to 6-6.
Las Vegas enters on a two-game winning streak thanks to back-to-back overtime victories. The Raiders will not make it easy on themselves, but their results over the last two weeks suggest they could eke out a close game.
49ers over Dolphins
3 of 3
The Jets would love to see Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel lose in his return to San Francisco.
Miami enters Week 13 with a one-game lead over the Jets in the wild-card race. The Dolphins are two positions ahead in the standings with the Bengals in between the two AFC East squads.
The Jets would love to keep the Dolphins within a one-game reach until Week 18, when the two sides face off in Miami. The Jets already have a head-to-head win over the Dolphins. Another win would boost the Jets ahead of Miami if they finish on the same record.
Miami does not have many tough games left on its schedule. It plays the Chargers, Bills, Patriots and Green Bay Packers before its clash with the Jets.
New York needs to hope that Kyle Shanahan gets the best of his former assistant McDaniel so that it can either remain one game back or go level with a win.
A Jets win and Dolphins loss would move the Jets ahead in the standings on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
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