How Bengals Loss to Ravens Helps New York Jets in Long-shot Playoff Hopes

The New York Jets need to keep winning games, but some pieces are moving on the board that could help them out.

Nov 7, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton (81) reaches for quarterback Joe Burrow (not pictured) throws ass Baltimore Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens (21) defends during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The New York Jets have a difficult path to try and break their 14-year playoff drought.

Everyone knows that only three teams that have started a season 2-6 in the Super Bowl era have made the postseason. Just three teams.

For the Jets (3-6) to accomplish the highly improbable they need to win, at minimum, six of their remaining eight games. New York also needs some help.

That's why Cincinnati's loss to Baltimore on Thursday night was helpful.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase put up some of the biggest numbers of any individual player this season, but the Bengals still came up short to the Ravens.

That loss dropped Cincinnati to 4-6 for the season and puts it in ninth place in the AFC ahead of New York.

So how exactly does this loss help the Jets, who are preparing to play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday?

Well it's the first link in a potential chain of events that could improve New York's standing in the playoff race considerably by the time it hits the bye week.

The Jets must obviously win on Sunday. Meanwhile, Indianapolis goes to Buffalo. If the Colts happen to lose that game, then the following would happen:

New York would improve to 4-6 with a 4-4 conference record;

Indianapolis would fall to 4-6 with a 3-4 conference record;

Cincinnati would remain 4-6 with a 2-4 conference record.

And, with that, the Jets would move up two spots in the AFC standings in just one week.

Surreptitiously, the Jets host the Colts next Sunday, which would give New York an opportunity to win the-head-to-head tiebreaker should it need it at season’s end.

That would leave New York with a 5-6 record and eighth place going into the bye week. That would be the best-case scenario for the Jets, who looked dead in the water just a few weeks ago.

It would still be an uphill climb for New York. Of the seven teams that would make the AFC playoffs if they started today, the only team remaining on the Jets’ schedule is Buffalo, which is Week 17 in Buffalo. It would still be on New York to keep winning.

Thanks to Cincinnati's loss, this week and next will be critical if New York wants the chance to contend for the playoffs. The Jets still wouldn't control their own destiny, but they would at least have a fighting chance.