WATCH: Jets' Playoff Hopes on Life Support Heading into Week 5 at Eagles
With Sam Darnold still on the shelf and a broken offense that’s averaging an NFL worst 3.3 points per game, it goes without saying that the New York Jets (0-3) have had a less than ideal start to the 2019 season, to put it lightly.
Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of their control, things may have gotten a bit worse, as Darnold remains a question mark to play Week 5 at the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2).
New York’s playoff hopes were already on life support heading into their Week 4 bye and after this past weekend’s slate of games, it’s going to be a much tougher task for the team to realize its playoff aspirations.
New York, which had playoff probability of just nine percent heading into Week 4, has seen its chances to make the postseason slip even further due to the results of this past weekend.
According to playoffstatus.com, the Jets now have a probability of four percent to make the postseason as the sixth overall seed and to make matters worse, their most-likely path to said Wild Card spot is beyond their control
| AFC East Teams | Current Record | No. 1 Seed Probability | No. 2 Seed Probability | No. 3 Seed Probability | No. 4 Seed Probability | No. 5 Seed Probability | No. 6 Seed Probability | No Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New England Patriots | 4-0 | 33% | 17% | 9% | 7% | 12% | 7% | 15% |
Buffalo Bills | 3-1 | 9%* | 12%* | 6%* | 4%* | 22% | 12% | 35% |
New York Jets | 0-3 | <1%* | <1%* | <1%* | 1%* | 2%* | 4%* | 93% |
Miami Dolphins | 0-4 | <1%* | <1%* | <1%* | 1%* | 1%* | 2%* | 97% |
*Denotes that the team doesn't control its own destiny for a given seed.
The likelihood of a playoff appearance is looking pretty bleak for Gang Green right about now, but there are a couple of things - and I’m being incredibly optimistic here - that are working in their favor.
Despite a drop in playoff probability after Week 4, New York actually jumped up the AFC standings from 15th to 13th place thanks to losses by the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and Denver Broncos.
Additionally, with games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (ninth seed), Oakland Raiders (sixth seed), Baltimore Ravens (11th seed), Pittsburgh Steelers (12th seed) and Buffalo Bills (fifth seed) remaining on their schedule, the Jets have several opportunities to climb up the standings and pick up a few tiebreakers along the way; if they can keep pace with their competition, that is.
The Jets have 13 games left to defy the odds and sneak their way into the AFC postseason picture, but it all starts this weekend against the Eagles. If New York doesn’t leave Lincoln Financial Field with a win Sunday afternoon, its playoff hopes are as good as gone.
