A loss drops Jets to bottom of AFC East

Losing to the Dolphins a second time a week after falling to the last winless team would be demoralizing to the Jets for a bevy of reasons, but one big one would be the Jets’ standing in the division. The Patriots and Bills are clearly the two best teams in the AFC East, but a Jets loss to the Dolphins would put each team at 4-9 and drop the Jets to fourth given the Dolphins’ two wins over New York.

There are scores of reasons for the Jets to be disappointed in this season – the offensive struggles, injuries and coaching miscues to name only a few. Falling to fourth in the AFC East, though, might be the worst of those disappointments considering the Dolphins traded away most of their best players in an obvious tanking scheme for the best draft pick. The Jets, meanwhile, spent wildly in free agency the past two seasons and made moves to become contenders.

There is nothing left for the Jets to play for with the playoffs out of sight, but not being the worst team in their division would be a small – but significant – a consolation prize for a lost season.