How Jets’ Ineptitude In Loss To Raiders Impacts Patriots’ Playoff Seeding

Disclaimer: The New England Patriots should never rely on the New York Jets for anything.

But for a short time Sunday, fans across New England were (or should have been) pulling for Adam Gase’s terrible Jets. And New York perfectly depicted why they can never be counted on.

The Jets had a four-point lead with 13 seconds remaining against the Las Vegas Raiders. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dropped back past midfield, then stepped up in the pocket and unleashed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs. It proved the game-winning touchdown in the Raiders’ 31-28 Week 13 victory.

The Jets’ inability was puzzling, but common.

Ruggs crossed the goal-line with six seconds left, beating Jets cornerback Lamar Jackson, who fell for a double-move at the New York 30-yard line despite the fact Las Vegas did not have a timeout and almost certainly had to take a shot to the end zone.

Of course, Jackson wasn’t put in a great position to help against the impressive rookie wideout. The Jets blitzed their linebackers and were left playing one-on-one on the back end.

Again, New York was ahead by four points. They could’ve allowed Las Vegas to get into field goal range. Only a touchdown would have got them beat.

And it did.

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold couldn’t complete a last-second Hail Mary on the following possession.

While it was certainly left in question for a moment in time, the Jets proved the Jets once again Sunday. New York remains a winless 0-12 and their aspirations of drafting Trevor Lawrence proved superior to earning a victory.

So while Lawrence currently may be the unhappiest man in the world, Patriots fans shouldn’t be far behind.

The Patriots had a perfect opportunity to advance in the AFC playoff standings. And then they didn’t.

As previously outlined by NESN.com’s Zack Cox, New England entered Week 13 as the No. 10 seed in the AFC while Las Vegas entered as the No. 8 seed. A Raiders loss would have dropped them to 6-6 while a Patriots win over the Los Angeles Chargers this afternoon would get them to 6-6, as well.

With the Patriots’ Week 3 win over the Raiders, New England holds the tiebreaker. Essentially, the Patriots would have advanced at least one playoff spot with a Jets win and a win over their own Week 13.

Three teams ahead of the Raiders — No. 5 Cleveland Browns, No. 6 Miami Dolphins and No. 7 Indianapolis Colts — all earned wins Sunday afternoon. The ninth-seeded Baltimore Ravens play the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday.

The Patriots possess a tiebreaker over Baltimore and could overtake the Ravens with a win over the Chargers and Baltimore loss to Dallas. But with the Raiders’ win, the highest New England will get this week is the ninth seed.

And it’s all because of the Jets’ ineptitude that New England (with a win, of course) won’t have a chance to reach No. 8 in the seven-team playoff picture.