NFL Playoff Picture: Jets' Capture of Wild-Card Spot Won't Impress Anyone

The New York Jets look set to capture the final wild-card spot in the AFC this season, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be a playoff team.

Just four weeks ago, the Jets were coming off their second straight loss after falling to the Denver Broncos, 17-13.

In that game, quarterback Mark Sanchez and the running game disappointed, which has been all-too-common a theme for Jets fans this season.

That should have marked the end of the Jets as a playoff team.

But they got help, bolstered by a conference that has generally struggled, and received some cakewalk matchups, including against the Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bills had no defense, and the Redskins and Chiefs had no quarterbacks.

Now head coach Rex Ryan's Jets are 8-5 after a 5-5 start and have a good chance of grabbing that wild-card spot thanks to the Bills, Redskins, Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers.

Sure, the Jets deserve some credit for an 8-5 record, but do they honestly look like a team that could get far into the postseason? Have they really impressed anybody, with the exception of their pass defense?

The Jets are likely to make the playoffs, assuming they don't fall apart against the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, but that has more to do with getting help than distinguishing themselves as a legitimate playoff team.

We are going to hear them declare, "We told you so." Ryan will practically bellow it.

However, they will come back down to Earth when they don't even make it to the AFC Championship Game.