New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was quoted in Sunday’s edition of the New York Post as saying they were “absolutely” a playoff team.
Johnson must have a different definition of “absolutely” than most folks.
The Jets went into Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with an outside shot to reach the postseason, but their chances got scrawnier.
Jacksonville kicked a field goal as time expired to hand New York a heartbreaking 24-22 defeat at the Meadowlands.
The Jets have a losing record with seven games to play. They are tied with the Miami Dolphins for second place in the AFC East at 4-5, but the Dolphins have beaten them twice already.
Jets running back Thomas Jones bulled into the end zone with 5:05 to play. The drive was beautiful, going 16 plays and taking up seven minutes. The Jets seemed to be in control.
But their vaunted defense couldn’t come up with a stop, something it had trouble with all afternoon. The Jaguars gained 347 yards, including 139 on the ground.
Jets rookie Mark Sanchez had a nice afternoon when it came to working the ball around. Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller each gained at least 58 yards receiving. But Sanchez delivered two passes to Jacksonville, too. Sanchez completed 16 of 30 attempts for 212 yards and one touchdown.
The Jets badly needed a victory to maintain legitimate playoff hopes. Now they essentially need to run the table, win more games than the Dolphins (despite a much tougher schedule) and hope the New England Patriots fall apart down the homestretch so the Jets can win the division, which probably is the only way an AFC East team will make the postseason.
To get into the wild-card hunt, the Jets will need to get ahead of teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans and now the Jaguars.
That’s absolutely too much to ask for.
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