It’s always quite a battle anytime the New York Jets and New England Patriots get together. Given some of the circumstances surrounding both teams, particularly when it comes to playoff odds, Sunday’s latest chapter between the two could be one of the biggest meetings, especially for the Jets.
At 5-2, the Jets, despite all of their injuries, could still make a push for the playoffs. If they can defeat the Patriots on Sunday, they would move to 6-2 and that’s usually a strong record to eventually get to the playoffs. In fact, their chances at the playoffs, per Football Outsiders, get very strong if they can win, and would also crush the Patriots’ hopes at the same time.
Per FO, if the Jets defeat the Patriots Sunday, their playoff odds would sit at 78% and would drop New England’s all the way down to just 13% at 3-5.
On the flip side, if the Jets lose and drop to 5-3, FO has their playoff odds pretty much as a coin flip, at 47%, while the Patriots would move to 4-4 and see their odds improve to 39%.
Patriots vs. Jets FO Playoff Odds Change by Outcome
Jets: Win – 78%, Loss – 47%
Patriots: Win – 39%, Loss – 13%#ForeverNE | #TakeFlight | #NEvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/LeoCtr8opp— Football Outsiders (@fboutsiders) October 27, 2022
On a similar note, 82.1% of teams since 1990 that have started 6-2 have gone on to make playoffs compared to 63.7% of teams that started 5-3. So while this isn’t completely a must-win for the Jets, it sure would be a huge help, especially coming off an emotional week of injuries. Plus, it’s the Patriots. They would love nothing more than to put their hated rivals in a 3-5 hole at the midway point of the season.
Since 1990, @nfl teams that have started 6-2 have made the postseason 82.1% of the time.
Teams with 5-3 starts have made the playoffs 63.7% of the time.
— Eric Allen (@eallenjets) October 26, 2022