Jets Country

Where Jets Stand in Playoff Race After Blasting Bears

New York is 7-4 leading up to their road game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.

Max Goodman

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After a dominant performance in their win over the Bears on Sunday, the Jets have a spot in the postseason picture.

New York holds the seventh and final position in the AFC playoff bracket after the conclusion of Week 12. They would face the No. 2 seeded Dolphins on the road in Miami if the season ended on Tuesday.

With six games remaining in the regular season, teams have plenty of time to battle for a higher seed or fall out of contention. Either way, the Jets have to like their odds when it comes to making the playoffs, ending their 11-season drought. 

FiveThirtyEight gives the Jets a 53 percent chance to advance to the playoffs entering play in Week 13. It's a long shot, but they calculate that New York has a six percent chance to win the AFC East.

Meanwhile, the Jets' opponent this week has a chance to clinch their division on Sunday. The Vikings will be NFC North champions with a win over New York and a Lions loss against the Jaguars. 

The goal all along for this rebuilding Jets team was to play meaningful games in December, taking a clear step forward toward contention. Even after accomplishing that mission, Jets head coach Robert Saleh isn't celebrating. He's focused on the task at hand this week.

"It’s great to be where we are," Saleh told reporters on Monday. "We expected to have a competitive football team, but at the same time we haven’t accomplished anything, there’s still six games left. There’s still a lot of football to be had, we’ve got six really good opponents that we get to go play, first one being Minnesota. I always say there’s only one team happy at the end of the year, and the focus is you just got to focus on your moment. It’s awesome to be where we are right now, like we said, playing meaningful games. It’s fun, it gives you purpose, it allows you to play for something more than just a paycheck. But at the same time, we’ve just got to focus on our moment."

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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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