Week 12 against the Chicago Bears gave the New York Jets a chance to get themselves back on track on the field and back in the mix in the playoff race.
Coupled with the loss by the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving, the Jets moved back into the final playoff spot in the Wild Card race in the AFC and also remained one game back in the AFC East race after moving to 7-4 with the win over the Bears.
The Buffalo Bills made it two wins in the city of Detroit in five days after their 28-25 win over the Lions on Thanksgiving and the Miami Dolphins had no trouble disposing of the one-win Houston Texans, 30-15, after leading 30-0 at halftime.
The good news for the Jets is they still hold the tiebreaker over both the Dolphins and the Bills and still have one more game against both (at Buffalo Week 14, at Miami Week 18).
AFC Esat Standings
Miami Dolphins 8-3 (2-1 division)
Buffalo Bills 8-3 (0-2)
New York Jets 7-4 (2-2)
New England Patriots 6-5 (2-1)
The Wild Card standings are also very tight. Every team from No. 3 to No. 9, except for the Bills, is either 7-4 or 6-5. So a lot can, and will, change over the final six weeks of the regular season.
AFC Playoff Standings
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs 9-2 (5-2 conference)
No. 2 Miami Dolphins 8-3 (6-2)
No. 3 Tennessee Titans 7-4 (5-3)
No. 4 Baltimore Ravens 7-4 (4-3)
No. 5 Buffalo Bills 8-3 (5-2)
No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals 7-4 (4-3)
No. 7 New York Jets 7-4 (5-4)
No. 8 New England Patriots 6-5 (5-2)
No. 9 Los Angeles Chargers 6-5 (4-3)
As was seemingly the case for a few weeks now, the race feels like nine teams for seven spots. More so, it’ll soon be eight teams fighting for six spots with the Chiefs closing in on yet another AFC West crown.
The key for the Jets at this point is staying above the Patriots. Divisonal ties are broken first in the wild card standings and the Patriots already have the season sweep of the Jets, so finishing with the same record would hurt the Jets in this case. They also are trying to overcome their Week 3 loss to the Bengals, which is why they sit as the No. 7 seed, behind Cincinnati.
If the Jets can steal at least one of these two games at Minnesota and Buffalo, they can position themselves well for a stretch run to make the playoffs, with home games against the Lions and Jaguars following. Their Week 18 date with Dolphins could end up being a de-facto playoff game for the Jets.
First things first, try and take care of business Sunday against the Vikings.