December 16th, 2012 
Matt Loede 
Posted in By Jordan Aaron
I’ve put a lot of though into what way was easiest for the Jets to get into the playoffs (if that is even realistic) and I’ve come to a few conclusions. The Jets beat 2 of the three other wild card contenders in a head to head – the Bengals and the Colts. They lose to the Steelers.
For Jets to go head to head with Cincinnati:
- Beat Steelers
- Lose to Ravens
- Finish 9-7/8-8
For Jets to go head to head with Colts:
- Lose to Texans twice
- Lose to Chiefs
- Finish 9-7
For Jets to force head to head:
- Win at Tennessee
- Win vs. San Diego
- Win at Bills
The Jets have an incredibly easy schedule to finish out the Season. By far, their toughest team is the Chargers – who can easily be beaten.
The easiest way into the playoffs is a head to head with the Bengals. The Bengals picked up huge momentum going to Pittsburgh next week. Now, let’s assume the playoff hungry Cowboys beat the Steelers. This would make them 7-7 and we could expect them to fall to the Bengals, making the Steelers 7-8 and the Bengals 9-6. If the Jets have defeated the Titans and Chargers, they will bet 8-7, 1 game back from the Bengals.
The Ravens trail the Broncos and Patriots by one game and will play Peyton’s crew this week, which could tie the teams at 10-4. And the possible loss to the 49ers could put the Pats at 10-4. Assuming the teams are tied at 11-4 by week 17, the Ravens will be fighting for a round-one bye week. The Bengals would probably lose to the effort put forth by Baltimore.
The Playoff picture would finish like this if the Jets won out and my prophecy for the Bengals panned out:
1st: Texans
2nd: Patriots
3rd: Broncos
4th: Ravens
5th: Colts
6th: T- Jets/Bengals
The Jets in turn would beat the Bengals in a head to head and move to the playoffs as the 6th seed wild card.
This is a huge what if scenario, but it is a very possible situation. We will see how the Jets fare against the Titans week 15 to come to a conclusion about this, but for now, I am still hopeful.
