NFL Playoff Predictions: NY Jets Will Hold On to Last AFC Wild-Card Spot

Despite their horrible performance in Week 15, the New York Jets will fend off the Cincinnati Bengals to claim the AFC's final wild-card spot.

The Jets dropped to 8-6 after suffering a 26-point beatdown at the hands of Philadelphia. Their defense looked awful and Mark Sanchez looked even worse.

Conversely, Cincinnati played pretty well, defeating the Rams 20-13 to improve to 8-6. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green both set rookie milestones and the Bengals gained some momentum heading into the final two games of the season.

However, Jets fans shouldn't be panicking yet.

New York holds the tiebreaker over Cincinnati thanks to a better record in common games. They also have two favorable matchups to close out the regular season.

Next week they take on the New York Giants, who just lost 23-10 to Washington. The Giants have lost five of their last six games, with their only victory being a narrow three-point win over Dallas.

In their season finale, the Jets take on AFC East rival Miami. The Dolphins are 5-9 and just fired their head coach. They also have one of the worst pass defenses in the league, which means Sanchez shouldn't have too much trouble finding Santonio Holmes and Dustin Keller.

The Bengals have a slightly tougher schedule. They should easily handle Arizona next week, but they close out the season against the Ravens and their terrifying defense.

I like Dalton and company, but I don't see them beating Baltimore.

As long as the Jets go 1-1 over the next two weeks, they will sneak into the playoffs.