Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets are 4-5 through the first 10 weeks of the 2023 season and currently reside in the No. 13 hole in the AFC conference.
Despite things looking dire, head coach Robert Saleh delivered an inspirational message to his team on their playoff hopes, “There is still a lot of football left.”
“Anytime you lose, especially yesterday [Sunday], I agree with you it was a game that we needed to win, we should have won. Now we gotta go steal one like we have. We have beaten some good football teams, we know that we’re capable of playing at a high level, and we’re capable of playing complementary football,” Saleh explained during a radio appearance on “The Michael Kay Show.”
“It’s definitely not over, there’s still a lot of football left. I think I read somewhere last year San Francisco [49ers] was 4-4 after eight [games]. There is just a lot of football left. I get it, in football when you lose it sucks and the whole world feels like it’s caving in but all it takes is one great week of preparation and 60 minutes of great football and everything can switch again.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh had some very interesting comments on the teams playoff hopes to @RealMichaelKay:
After losing a game to the #Raiders ‘they should’ve won’, Saleh believes they now gotta go ‘steal one’ & talked about the upcoming game vs the #Bills + ‘it’s definitely not…
Jets’ Playoff Hopes Are Going to Require Some Magic
The Jets were riding high during a three-game winning streak this season with playoff aspirations on their minds. However, they have been humbled the last two weeks with a losing streak and its playoff hopes on life support.
There are 16 teams in the AFC and seven of those make the postseason. Currently Gang Green is stuck with six teams that also have five losses. The problem is two of those squads [Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers] beat the Jets, so they hold the most important tiebreaker which is head-to-head.
On top of that there are eight more AFC teams above them that have four losses or fewer.
In other words, the wildcard picture is very messy for the Jets heading into Week 11. You need to win, and you need a lot of teams to lose.
However, the simpler path is believe it or not, the AFC East.
The Miami Dolphins are in first place at 6-3, the Buffalo Bills are 5-5, the Jets are 4-5, and the New England Patriots are out of the picture at 2-8.
AFC East standings after week 10
Cred @JetNews_
Somehow we’re still in it🤷🏻♂️
Over the next two weeks the Jets hit the road to play the Bills and then come back home on a short week to get the Dolphins. As bad as things have looked for the Jets in 2023, everything is still ahead of them heading into Week 11.
The Jets Can Attack a Vulnerable Buffalo in Week 11
That path starts in Buffalo against the Bills on Sunday, November 19.
Buffalo is spiraling after losing four of their last six games. The lowlight of which was losing to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football to end Week 10.
Denver missed a game-winning field goal at the end of the game which would have allowed Buffalo to escape with the victory. However, there were 12 men on the field on defense, the Broncos got to re-kick and the Bills lost in dramatic fashion.
The Jets already beat this Buffalo team back in Week 1. Now the Bills are in a funk, are dealing with crippling injuries on the defense, and their season is on life support.
Gang Green hasn’t swept Buffalo since the 2016 regular season. However, they will have a chance to end that drought in 2023.
