The path to the postseason will be easier than ever for the Jets after league owners officially voted on and approved expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams for the 2020 postseason.
Now, the Jets have four opportunities to make the playoffs – three wild-card spots and the AFC East champion – with the addition of a seventh team to each conference tournament. Only the No. 1 seed in the conference will earn a first-round bye, as the No. 2 seed will face the third wild-card team or the No. 7 seed.
This rule change provides a pivotal moment in the Jets’ quest for their first playoff appearance since 2010. Tom Brady won’t play in the AFC this season which leaves the division and most of the conference up for grabs for the first time in 20 years. With four chances to make the playoffs, Adam Gase and the Jets can’t squander this moment. Sam Darnold also enters his third season in the league, a year in which he should take a big step forward in his development in his second season with Gase at the helm of the offense.
If you’re curious how this change would have affected the Jets’ playoff chances in 2019 – it wouldn’t have. The Jets, who were actually in contention for much of the season despite their horrible start to the year, wouldn’t have made the playoffs despite their 7-9 finish. They finished 11th in the AFC after tiebreakers. The Steelers, who finished 8-8, would have grabbed the No. 7 seed and faced the Chiefs in the Wild Card round if this playoff format existed last season.
This is how last season’s playoffs would’ve looked under the new, 14-team format, which was approved today by owners. #NFL pic.twitter.com/GDzWgSc3iz
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) March 31, 2020
The record required to make the playoffs now is lowered a bit with the extra wild card team. Typically a 10-6 record is the bare minimum to make the playoffs, as only two 9-7 teams made it in 2019, and only one – the Titans – were a wild card team. But now, a 9-7 record might be good enough to make the playoffs if a team doesn’t win the division.
If you looked at every season since 2003 with this new format, eight 10-6 teams – including the 2015 Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Jets – 16 teams who finished 9-7 and nine 8-8 teams that missed the playoffs would have made it as the No. 7 seed. This helps the Jets, who were only a few wins away from 9-7 in 2019 and could be better in 2020 if their free agent signings and draft picks pan out.
The Jets won’t know their season schedule until May 9, but they already know the opponents they’ll play given how they finished the 2019 season. Despite a down year, the 2020 schedule looks a little daunting considering the away teams include the Super Bowl champion Chiefs as well as the revamped Colts and Chargers, as well as the Seahawks on the road. The Dolphins and Bills also upgraded in free agency, Bill Belichick still coaches the Patriots and the Jets will also play the Super Bowl runner-up 49ers at MetLife at some point in 2020.
If the Jets want to shed the stigma of their past quickly, they won’t get a better opportunity than 2020 with the expanded playoff format and the lack of Brady in the AFC.