IMO our season is riding on these next two games. If we want the division both these games are must win. If the Giants or Steelers could somehow beat the Patriots, it would set up a battle for first place in the division. We would be (2-0) in the division while the Patriots would be (2-1). On the other hand if we split these next two games the most we could realistically get is the wildcard and even that would be difficult because we have lost to the Raiders and losing to either the Chargers or Bills would hurt even more in so many ways. Im pretty sure though if we beat the Chargers it would set up a game against the Bills where we would have a shot to retake our wildcard spot, and hopefully the next week, retake the division. Its gunna be a test, but we are capable of doing it.
Sweeping the Bills is the most important thing to do this season. The Jets have control over division games. Everything else is up in the air. It's looking like NE will win the division again, so we need to put Buffalo back in their place and out of the Wildcard race.
Oops we are 1-1 in the divsion, and the Patriots are 2-1. But if we beat the Bills we would be 2-1 just like the Patriots. So we would be playing for the divsion if the Giants or Steelers can pull an upset.
I agreed. I've been saying that to every Jets fan I know. The Bills have to be swept or else this season is probably a lost one. I would go as far to say that he Jets can't lose another divisional game all season if they want to reach the playoffs.
I think this is a very reasonable assessment, which is why I can't understand people saying it's too early in the season to say that a game is a must win. We know from 2009 that that isn't literally true (after the Jets lost the must-win game to Atlanta), but if the Jets don't win the next 3 games they have virtually no chance to win the division, and if they don't win the next two their chances of getting the wild card aren't very good. People say it's a long season, but that just isn't true - 16 games is actually a very short season, and missteps within the conference can quickly become killers.
I agree that on paper the two most important games the rest of the schedule are the Bills games, since the Jets need to do what they can, when they have it in their control, to prevent the Bills from finishing ahead or winning tie breakers. Despite that, given the real world, where psychology, perceptions, the intangibles come into play, this week's game against SD is HUGE. Here's why - While only a conference game, the last thing the Jets want to do with the BIlls and Pats up in order next is lose to a winning west coast team coming east to play 1pm Eastern game, in the Jets' house. It would mean the fish game was not a come back, but nothing more than a win against a winless opponent (albeit within the division). It would mean all the difference in terms of momentum going into the Bills game to either have won two straight, including against a winning team for a change, as opposed to a loss to yet another winning team. A loss to SD would also mean that the Jets have yet to show they can win against a winning team, even if so many factors are in their favor (see above). A loss would also mean the Jets could be no better than at .500 halfway through the season. I haev long looked at the schedule as made up of four quarters of four games each. You should be showing either improvement or not falling back in the standings as you move through each quarter. Given the 2-2 record in the first quarter, the second quarter should be 3-1 to move toward a playoff spot. Depending on going on a tear in the second half of the season is too risky. Make the move now. 3-4 just has a shitty sound to it, somehow worse than 2-3. Why? Because there are fewer games to get the record north of .500. In short, SD is a key game, and a loss will be imo quite devastating to the hopes for the season. Once you go beyond the math that the team will not statistically be finished, which is true enough, by a loss, and consider the foregoing, I think the SD game has to be viewed as HUGE.
I agree with these points as well. I have little patience with the "we're not techncially out of it yet!' argument. I don't think depending on the sequence of events that followed that loss to Atlanta in 09 is a good place to be.
Excellent post. Counting on kismet is foolish. The next two games are absolutely must wins. We can ill afford to drop another conference game and/or a division game and have playoff aspirations.
with 3 losses early, we've given ourselves very little breathing room. realistically we could make the playoffs at 10-6 as long as we sweep buffalo. which means we'd have to go 7-3 (not impossible). IMHO, the three divisional games will hold the key. if we can make it to 5-3, that's a decent record at the halfway mark. given our schedule, it's not outside of the realm of possibility to finish 6-2 in the 2nd half. right now, i think we're looking at worst (9-7) or most likely (10-6) with a marginal chance at 11-5. but the offense needs to get better before any of that happens.
IMO as long as we beat SD we should be a shoo-in for 10-6 and maybe even 11-5. Looking at the schedule, there should be no way we're not winning 6 out of the final 9 games. But with that said ... in 2008 the Dolphins started 2-4, coming off a 1-15 season and we were 8-3 at one point ... but when it was all said and done, they were division champs and we were out of the playoffs. So much changes from week to week, so let's take them one at a time.
aren't they all always a must win? i'm not gonna project what they have to do in the next 5 or 6 games, they just have to win this sunday. and it will be the same thing the next weekend they play.
We'ev been so damn Jekyll and Hyde this season I don't have enough patience to look past this next game even if my looking ahead does not matter in and of itself. I'll I'm hoping for is both the offense and defensse to build off of strong performences last week.
We only lost 3 conference game all last season, and we're already at that point this season. Evwry AFC matchup is a must win at this point.
Really, it's the next 3 games that mean the most. If we go 1-2, we're likely missing the playoffs. If we go 2-1, we're in decent shape. If we go 3-0, we're in great shape all of a sudden. The next 2 games (along with the 2nd Bills game week 12) are the most important games because they're our direct competitors. I throw New England in there because it's a divisional game, and a home game. Buffalo already beat New England once. If we can't sweep the Bills, we need to win that Patriots game to hold serve in terms of tiebreakers. In the last 4 weeks, we have KC, Miami, Philly, and the Giants. We need to plan on 3-1 there (winning the 2 easy games, splitting the tougher NFC games). If we're at 7-5 heading into that stretch, we have a good chance. If we're 8-4, we should be a near-lock. Anything less, and we're probably out when you throw in tiebreakers. Still too early to say anything definitive, but that's how it looks.
