NFL Power Rankings: This Jets season could end in heartbreak
Haven’t the New York Jets fans suffered enough?
The Jets are having a season that even the most optimistic fan probably didn’t see coming. They’re 9-5. Ryan Fitzpatrick is having a nice season. Todd Bowles is doing a heck of a job in his first season as Jets coach. That’s awesome, right?
Ah, but this is the Jets, one of the unluckiest franchises in the NFL. And Jets fans who have suffered through the years can probably see where this season is headed.
The Jets could finish 11-5 and miss the playoffs. In fact, it looks like that’s the most likely outcome even if the Jets finish 11-5.
The Steelers face the Ravens and Browns to finish the season. A loss to either, even on the road, would be a massive upset. The Chiefs have home games against the Browns and Raiders. They’ll be heavily favored in each. If the Steelers and Chiefs win out, and if you’re betting you’d say they will, both of them would be in the playoffs because of tiebreakers. There is a scenario in which the Steelers, Chiefs, Jets win out and the Broncos lose once or twice and the Jets get in while the Broncos are out. That would be a heck of a story too.
The Jets aren’t guaranteed to win 11 games, or course. They face the Patriots this week and the Bills in the finale and obviously neither will be easy. But if the Jets win both and miss the playoffs, they’ll join the 1985 Broncos and 2008 Patriots as the only 11-5 teams to miss the playoffs in NFL history. That would be rough.
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We don’t know how the season will end, and the range of possibilities still includes the Jets losing their final two or the Jets getting the help they need and getting in the playoffs. But winning 11 and missing out on the playoffs would be fitting for a Jets franchise that hasn’t caught many breaks since the Joe Namath days.
Here are Shutdown Corner’s power rankings after Week 15:
32. Baltimore Ravens (4-10, LW: 32)
Kamar Aiken wasn’t expected to be a huge part of the Ravens’ offense this season but has done well with Steve Smith and Breshad Perriman out. His eight-catch, 128-yard day Sunday puts him at 62 catches and 802 yards for the season. Nice job taking advantage of an opportunity.
31. San Francisco 49ers (4-10, LW: 31)
A banner saying “HOLD JED ACCOUNTABLE” has flown over the last two 49ers home games, and fans didn’t exactly fill the seats as anger toward owner Jed York grows. Make no mistake, as his team struggles in the first season after Jim Harbaugh, it is absolutely, positively inexcusable and cowardly for York to not speak publicly about his team (he has avoided the local media all season), which plays in a stadium that has been funded in part by tax money. York said last year fans should “hold me accountable” if the team isn’t winning a Super Bowl. Well …
30. Cleveland Browns (3-11, Last week: 30)
Johnny Manziel watch: 19 of 32, 161 yards, one touchdown, one interception. Not great, but it was a tough assignment at Seattle. I don’t think that performance will affect the ultimate decision on Manziel one way or another. The next two weeks will tell a big part of that story.
29. Tennessee Titans (3-11, LW: 29)
Dorial Green-Beckham had his second 100-yard game in three weeks, and the latest one was against the champion Patriots. He’s going to be one of the more intriguing guys in the league next season. With a really good, accurate quarterback to throw him the ball, he could be a big star.
28. Dallas Cowboys (4-10, LW: 27)
The Kellen Moore change had to happen. I don’t think he’s a legitimate NFL quarterback, but this is the epitome of a “it doesn’t hurt to find out” situation.
27. Miami Dolphins (5-9, LW: 24)
Deplorable performance at San Diego. Same problems. The offensive line was no good (it was shockingly bad after Branden Albert’s injury, and center Mike Pouncey’s injury didn’t help either), Ryan Tannehill can’t throw deep, the coaching staff forgot Lamar Miller existed and the defense was clueless. That about cover it?
26. San Diego Chargers (4-10, LW: 28)
I covered some games in San Diego when the Chargers were really good in the mid-2000s. It was always a fun, lively, loud atmosphere. Chargers fans deserve better than this, if Sunday was in fact the last home game in San Diego.
25. New Orleans Saints (5-9, LW: 21)
You’re down 18 points early in the fourth quarter, with the ball at the Lions’ 4-yard line. You also have the NFL’s worst defense. There’s not much benefit to kicking a field goal there. But that’s what Sean Payton, an otherwise sharp coach, did. Makes no sense at all.
24. Detroit Lions (5-9, LW: 26)
I hope we’re not seeing the end of Calvin Johnson at age 30. He has been one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the NFL for years. But he has two catches for 35 yards the last two weeks. He never was a factor against the Saints, who have an impossibly bad secondary.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9, LW: 22)
I know their AFC South chances weren’t great even with a win. But to come out and play like that, and lose to a Falcons team that hadn’t played well in more than two months, doesn’t give you a lot of confidence moving forward. It’s a young team and consistency will be an issue when that’s the case. Still, that was a bad loss.
22. Chicago Bears (5-9, LW: 20)
The Vikings had some huge defensive injuries, and still the Bears did nothing. That four-week stretch in which the Bears looked like a good team seems like it never happened.
21. St. Louis Rams (6-8, LW: 25)
It’s incredible Aaron Donald lasted until the 13th pick of last year’s draft. Interesting question: Odell Beckham went 12th … would he still go ahead of Donald if there was a re-draft today? I’m not sure. Good debate.
20. Atlanta Falcons (7-7, LW: 23)
I don’t think the Falcons can stop the Panthers’ undefeated season. But weird things happen all the time in the NFL, and it would be a huge positive for Atlanta in a pretty disappointing season. Of course, it would keep them alive for a playoff spot, however remote those chances seem.
19. Indianapolis Colts (6-8, LW: 13)
There might not be a more interesting team to watch this offseason. They could decide to totally clean house in the front office, coaching staff and on the roster. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they look totally different next season. In a related note, any coaching vacancy that includes the opportunity to coach Andrew Luck for the next decade will be coveted by just about any coach who wants a job.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8, LW: 19)
Doug Martin, with 1,305 yards, trails Adrian Peterson by 9 yards for the NFL lead. Nobody else has more than 1,023 yards. Martin is a free agent. I still wouldn’t give him a big contract. The track record of backs getting large deals in free agency isn’t good.
17. Oakland Raiders (6-8, LW: 18)
Charles Woodson really is the type of player who epitomizes what’s great about watching football. He gave us two decades of greatness.
16. Buffalo Bills (6-8, LW: 12)
I’m not saying the Bills should make a coaching change or that it won’t get better, but it’s clear that Rex Ryan’s first year in Buffalo has been a total disappointment.
15. Philadelphia Eagles (6-8, LW: 17)
I’m not sure why, all of a sudden, there’s this disbelief over Chip Kelly not playing DeMarco Murray much the past couple weeks. Murray has 3.4 yards per carry. He hasn’t made an impact for most of the season. If Kelly kept playing him just because of what he did last year or the contract he has, people would say he’s a bad coach because of that.
14. New York Giants (6-8, LW: 16)
Those three hours on Sunday summed up the entire 2015 Giants experience. Absolutely terrible, then all of a sudden unstoppable, but ultimately disappointing.
13. Houston Texans (7-7, LW: 14)
I have a lot of respect for the Texans. I’m not necessarily looking forward to watching them on that opening game the Saturday of wild-card weekend, but they could have packed it in with all the key injuries they had. Instead, they kept winning with guys like Brandon Weeden and Alfred Blue playing key roles.
12. Washington Redskins (7-7, LW: 15)
Saturday is a huge game for the team and Kirk Cousins. Reports on Monday indicated the Redskins believe Cousins is their quarterback for the long term. That’s fine, but I wonder if that opinion changes if he lays an egg with the division on the line against a bad Eagles team.
11. New York Jets (9-5, LW: 11)
Ryan Fitzpatrick just turned 33. He has 3,428 yards and 26 touchdown passes this year, and has played pretty well. He’s also a journeyman with an 80.9 career rating. He’ll be a free agent this offseason. So what is he worth to the Jets? That’s a really complicated puzzle for the team to figure out.
10. Minnesota Vikings (9-5, LW: 10)
Teddy Bridgewater had four touchdown passes on Sunday. He has only 13 touchdown passes this season, in 14 games. it’s hard to get a read on what his NFL ceiling is. Bridgewater has been pretty good and definitely has games in which he looks like a top-end player, but is limited by his arm strength. You can probably win big with him, but a lot of pieces need to be in place around him to accomplish that.
9. Green Bay Packers (10-4, LW: 9)
The Packers are 20th in total offense, 25th in yards per play and 26th in passing yards per game. They had less than 300 total yards on Sunday, albeit in a win. If you’re asking me today which teams are Super Bowl contenders and which teams are not, they make the “are not” list, with the asterisk being that Aaron Rodgers could get hot for a month. But we’ve been waiting for that to happen for a couple months, haven’t we?
8. Kansas City Chiefs (9-5, LW: 8)
If the Chiefs win the division title, winning 11 in a row after losing their first five, it would be one of the weirder NFL stories. And it’s quite possible. All they need to do is beat the Browns and Raiders at home and have the Broncos lose once. The ratings for next Monday’s Bengals-Broncos game will be enormous in Kansas City.
7. Seattle Seahawks (9-5, LW: 6)
In Doug Baldwin’s first 72 NFL games, he had 18 receiving touchdowns. In his last four games, he has 10 receiving touchdowns.
6. Denver Broncos (10-4, LW: 4)
I can’t even imagine the reaction around Denver if the Broncos go from 10-2 to not even winning the AFC West. And if they lose Monday night to the 11-3 Bengals, I don’t think they’re winning the AFC West. Also worth repeating — that Jets team we discussed before could sneak into the playoffs at the expense of the Broncos if the Jets, Steelers and Chiefs win out and the Broncos lose one of their last two. Monday night’s game against the Bengals could be enormous for the Broncos.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5, LW: 7)
They scored 34 points against the NFL’s best defense, and Antonio Brown carved up a really good secondary. I want to see Steelers at Patriots in January. That would be a treat.
4. Cincinnati Bengals (11-3, LW: 5)
AJ McCarron was 15 of 21 for 192 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions on Sunday. He is not going to light the scoreboard up, but he needs to be efficient, avoid mistakes and make a play or two for a really talented Bengals team to win. He did just that in his first NFL start.
3. Arizona Cardinals (12-2, LW: 3)
I get why there’s an outcry about Tyrann Mathieu getting hurt in garbage time. But you still need to field 11 guys on each side until the game is over. It’s not always possible to replace every player late in a game. Still though, it’s a devastating injury. The Cardinals can overcome it, but nobody can replace Mathieu’s versatility or playmaking ability.
2. New England Patriots (12-2, LW: 2)
Do you need a running game to win a Super Bowl? Joey Iosefa, added from the practice squad, and Brandon Bolden had 87 yards on 24 carries, a 3.6-yard average, on Sunday. Maybe Steven Jackson is one of those brilliant signings nobody but the Patriots sees coming. But it sure seems like their championship hopes are entirely on the passing game — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you have Tom Brady.
1. Carolina Panthers (14-0, LW: 1)
What are people going to do if they go 16-0, or heaven forbid, 19-0? Will everyone spend all spring and summer still listing all the things the Panthers don’t do well?
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
