Jets Country

Jets' Journey to Postseason Contention Starts on Sunday Against Dolphins

New York hasn't won a game in their division since the end of the 2019 season.

Max Goodman

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The Jets have racked up a few dramatic wins over the last couple of years, slowly breaking through from the confines of mediocrity to hang with other talented postseason contenders.

What the Jets haven't been able to do, however, is win in their division.

New York hasn't won a game against a team in the AFC East since Week 17 of the 2019 season. That's 12 losses in a row, six in each of the last two seasons.

As the Jets prepare to open their 2022 slate of division games, taking on the Dolphins in Week 5 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, head coach Robert Saleh understands what is at stake.

"The quickest way to the playoffs is to win your division, right?" Saleh told reporters this week. "That’s the one thing you have control over, beating your division opponents and all that stuff."

Saleh went on to admit that he's turned New York's winless record against their division rivals into bulletin board material.

"It’s on our boards," he said. “'Own The East.' So if you are trying to become that playoff team, you’ve got to be great in the division, and this organization and this team hasn’t won in a while within the division. If we want to take that next step as an organization, we’ve got to do better in our division."

It just so happens that New York is in a loaded division. The Bills are Super Bowl contenders, the Dolphins have blossomed this year over the first several weeks and you can never count out Bill Belichick's Patriots. 

That in mind, the Jets have a tremendous opportunity to build on the momentum they've established in their comeback wins over Pittsburgh and Cleveland, showing the rest of the NFL they mean business by taking down the big boys in the AFC East.

Nobody is expecting the Jets to go out and sweep against those three teams, but after two seasons with no wins against their division rivals, they can take a significant step forward this year. A couple victories sets the table for contention.

That process begins on Sunday with the Dolphins coming to town.

"We're happy with the progress we've made thus far," veteran defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins said this week. "We're taking the necessary steps to continue to be a better team and take over this division. We've just got to continue to make the progress. It's not going to happen over night, it's not something that we can just flip a switch. We have all the talent we need, we've just got to continue to take the steps consistently and improve throughout the course of each week and the course of this season to continue to close that gap and be where we want to be as a team in this division."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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