Despite being on a bye week, the Jets managed to move into the driver’s seat in the AFC East after the Buffalo Bills lost on Sunday.
Gang Green is now a half game behind the 7–3 Miami Dolphins (with their bye coming next week) and tied with the Bills at 6–3. They currently own the tie-breaker over both Miami and Buffalo after beating both teams earlier in the season.
They beat the Bills in Week 9 after shutting down MVP-candidate Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense, while they topped the Dolphins in Week 5 while Miami’s starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was absent with a concussion.
That means the Jets control their own destiny as things currently stand.
They will, however, play the Dolphins and Bills again this year — giving both teams a chance to retake control of the division.
If they split the season series with a team (if Buffalo or Miami beat the Jets later this season), then the tiebreaker would go to whichever team has the best win-loss percentage in the division.
The Jets are currently 2–1 in the division, with three more AFC East games remaining. Miami is also 2–1, and the Bills are 0–2.
If they split the season series with one win and one loss, the tiebreaker would go to the team with the better winning percentage in common games.
None of that matters, of course, if one of the teams has a better record than the others.
But the Jets are undoubtedly satisfied with their current position, as they now have full control of their destiny in the division, which was not expected to be the case 10 weeks into the season.
Buoyed by one of the best defenses in the league, and a young offense that has been much better than expected, head coach Robert Saleh has the team firing on all cylinders this year.
The Jets final eight games are: @ Patriots, vs. Bears, @ Bills, vs. Lions, vs. Jaguars, @ Seahawks, and @ Dolphins.
