To the naked eye, the Jets’ Week 14 matchup against the Dolphins is a divisional battle between two below-average teams.
However, the Jets and Dolphins have much more on the line than Adam Gase seeking revenge in his second game against his former team.
It’s not as eye-opening as playoff positioning, but the two teams’ schedules could be finalized after Sunday’s game. As far as the 2020 schedule is concerned, 14 of 16 opponents are set. The other two will be determined over the next four weeks as Miami and New York battle for the AFC East cellar.
As it stands before Sunday’s game, the Dolphins hold a one-game lead over the Jets for the last place in the division. The Dolphins are 3-9, while the Jets are 4-8. If the Jets win on Sunday, they’ll have two more wins than Miami, which should seal a less than coveted third-place finish in the division. If the Dolphins win and improve to 2-0 against the Jets on the season, they’ll hold the head-to-head tiebreaker and have an extra edge for third place.
The difference between third and fourth place could be playing two completely different opponents. In 2020, the Jets and Dolphins will host the same-place finisher in the AFC North. That could mean the difference between playing the Browns and Bengals. Granted, the Jets lost to both teams in 2019, but there’s a contrast between playing a team with playoff aspirations and an organization going through a complete rebuild.
The AFC East will also travel to the same-place finisher from the AFC South. The Jaguars, who the Jets also lost to this season are the current leaders in the basement of that division. As far as third place is concerned, it’ll be a battle until the last week between the Titans and Colts, who are one-game apart in the standings.
Sure, the Jets would like to not go 0-2 against a team that began the season actively trying to lose games. If the wheels did indeed fall off in Cincinnati, losing may not be such a bad thing for New York as it looks ahead to 2020.