New York Jets: Will the Entire AFC East Lose with the Jets in Week 5?

We all heard about it over and over again throughout the summer. The New York Jets' opening stretch of five games this year is the hardest in the NFL.

Plenty of voices in the media were predicting 1-4 or 0-5. With the five-game stretch coming to a close Monday night, the Jets might still be on top of the AFC East. This raises the question:

Will the AFC East go 0-4 this weekend?

The division has been far from the powerhouse it used to be so far this year. The first-place Jets are only 2-2 and were beaten badly by the San Francisco 49ers. The Jets play arguably the best team in the NFL in the Houston Texans on Monday night.

In addition to the Jets, two other AFC East teams are big underdogs this weekend. The last-place Miami Dolphins travel to Cincinnati to play the first-place Bengals while the Buffalo Bills go to San Francisco to play the 49ers.

The most even game is the New England Patriots' home matchup against the Denver Broncos. Each team is 2-2 and won big in Week 4. The Patriots' secondary has the potential to give up a lot of points if Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is on his game.

If the whole division loses this weekend—which is perhaps the most likely of all outcomes—the Jets will remain on top at 2-3. After this week, the Jets' strength of schedule becomes exceedingly weak. In the final 12 weeks of the season, the Jets face one 2011 playoff team—the Patriots.

A lot of things have gone wrong for the Jets early in the season, particularly on the injury front. Everything seems better, however, when you get to play bad opponents. The Jets' schedule—combined with poor play from AFC East rivals—could be a cause for optimism as the organization continues on without Darrelle Revis and without Santonio Holmes.

Adam Waksman is a featured columnist for the Bleacher Report New York Jets community. Be sure to follow Adam on Twitter to receive updates right away.

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