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Even closing out the season with a feel-good win or a draft order-improving loss is proving to be a difficult task for the New York Jets.
Because Gang Green has been so bad for so long, they’ve now lost 15 straight games to the New England Patriots, meaning Bill Belichick’s Pats are one win away from beating the Jets for eight straight years. In other words — yikes!
What makes this season different than most, however, is the fact that this year, the Patriots are actually WORSE than the Jets, as they come into the game with two less wins and two more losses than their NYC-based rivals.
As such, the Jets face a dilemma: if they win, they will be helping the Patriots improve their draft position. And not only would the Patriots losing improve their draft position, but it’d give them a much better chance at landing one of this year’s top QB prospects in either USC’s Caleb Williams or UNC’s Drake Maye.
The Jets, however, don’t seem to have any doubts about their goal on Sunday, and that’s to win.
“The goal is breaking the losing streak, honestly,” linebacker Quincy Williams told The Athletic.
“We gotta fix it,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “It’s a great time to do it.”
Making matters even more complicated for Robert Saleh, the Jets, and their fans is the fact that Sunday will likely be Belichick’s final game as the head coach of the New England Patriots, giving them a literally once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end the legendary head coach’s tenure in Boston with a loss.
With the incredibly meaningful yet still meaningless matchup being played in New England, the Pats are currently favored by 2.5 points over the Jets in what will be a battle of offenses quarterbacked by Bailey Zappe and Trevor Siemian, respectively. Yikes.