Explaining Why Jets Should Tank Final Game vs. Rival Patriots

If the New York is serious about contending in 2024 with Aaron Rodgers back in the fold, falling to Bill Belichick's team again is the best move for Week 18

Since the turn of the century, Bill Belichick has found a way to hurt the New York Jets in the worst possible ways. 

Whether it was resigning as head coach just one day after replacing Bill Parcells, going 37-11 against New York, or finding a way to destroy the confidence of almost every young quarterback they have, the Patriots have essentially humiliated the Jets at every turn. 

It may not be what the fanbase wants to hear, but for New York to finally end their run of inept futility, they'll have to suffer one more humiliating defeat at the hands of their arch-rival on Sunday.

The Jets are currently slated to have the eighth overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. There is a possibility they could be as high as the sixth overall pick if they lose to the Patriots and other teams win their season finale. While unlikely, a loss would still guarantee the team a top-10 overall selection. 

A victory could prove to be disastrous. New York could fall outside the Top 10 if they end the 14-game losing streak to Belichick's Patriots. That means top offensive linemen and day-one diference-makers would be gone before the Jets even are on the clock. 

Plenty of fans and analysts don't believe the Jets will tank. Even defensive star Quincy Williams made it clear about the team's goal entering the year's final week.

"The motivation and vibes around the locker room is going 1-0," Williams said Monday afternoon. "Especially against the Patriots, the goal is to break the losing streak. With it being the last game, most people have their mindset on their vacation, but it's not that way in the locker room."

The mindset in New York's locker room is important. It means that head coach Robert Saleh and his staff have not lost the message of what is being taught. 

It doesn't mean that is in the Jets' best interest for 2024 though. 

Securing the best possible draft pick in a lost season is not a measure of cowardice, it's understanding where the team is while accepting that mediocre results certainly don't help. 

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Picking 11th and getting a player like Keon Coleman as opposed to seventh and Joe Alt is a significant difference for a team that is looking to reach the Super Bowl next year after a disastrous finish in 2023. 

People may not like the tanking argument for teams that are bad late in the year, but securing as many top picks as possible is how the current San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and other contending teams have been built.

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