Jets' Robert Saleh: 'Thinking Playoffs Is Farfetched' After Loss to Jaguars

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh did his best Jim Mora impression following his team's 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.

Saleh told reporters immediately after the game the Jets' focus isn't on the postseason right now with New York sitting at 7-8.

His tone remained the same Friday.

"Thinking playoffs is farfetched, but we've done a lot of really, really cool things this year," he said. "The most important thing now is finishing strong and that starts with Seattle."

After the Jets dropped their opener to the Baltimore Ravens in September, Saleh said he was "taking receipts on all the people who continually mock and say that we're not going to do anything."

His confidence was justified when New York turned things around and headed into its Week 10 bye with a 6-3 record. A first playoff appearance since 2010 certainly looked attainable.

Then the Jets dropped five of their next six games. They could potentially fall two games behind the Miami Dolphins for the AFC's final wild-card spot by Sunday, and FiveThirtyEight gives them an eight percent chance of reaching the postseason.

In the event New York's playoff drought extends for another season, Saleh and his staff have at least provided some hope for the future. The Jets are 10th in overall efficiency, per Football Outsiders, and an offseason quarterback change might do wonders toward raising their ceiling in 2023.

The franchise's entire history is a testament to how landing a franchise QB is easier said than done, but it's pretty encouraging the team has performed reasonably well with literally anybody other than Zach Wilson under center this year.

Saleh might be waving the white flag on the playoffs, but New York's seven victories are already more wins than it totaled across 2020 and 2021 combined. The team is firmly headed in the right direction.