No matter how bad you think this team is, the New York Jets won’t go 0-16 in 2017.
In the eyes of many, the New York Jets are devoid of talent. Their youth is also a big issue and that could hamper them this upcoming season.
At least two people in the media have predicted the Jets to go 0-16. One with a definitive prediction, and the other not so definitive. Richard Janvrin of Bleacher Report predicted the Jets to go 1-15 but probably 0-16 for the season after analyzing the schedule.
Colin Cowherd did his preseason predictions, and he had this to say about the Jets:
Let’s examine why the Jets won’t go 0-16.
Next: 3. History is on their side
3. History is on their side
There have only been 11 instances of a team completing an NFL season without winning a game. Four of the instances were either by expansion teams, during a strike-shortened season, or a result of a merger.
One of the teams that were winless was the 1982 Colts, during a strike-shortened season. The 1960 Dallas Cowboys and 1972 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were expansion teams, and the 1944 Card-Pitt team was a merger of two NFL teams due to roster shortage during World War II.
The 1944 NFL season actually had two winless franchises. The Brooklyn Tigers also finished that season winless (0-10).
That means it took 64 years for there to be an established NFL franchise lose all of their games in one season. That makes it incredibly rare.
Next: 2. Any given Sunday
2. Any given Sunday
There’s an old cliché in the NFL that a team can win on any given Sunday. There are several reasons that can hold true, and that’s why we’ve seen five NFL teams that finished 1-15 go through at least to Week 10 without recording a win.
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The truth is, we don’t know what injuries will occur on the Jets’ opponents this season. If key players go down on their opponents, the Jets may be able to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents beset by injury.
What if the Jets actually pose a matchup problem for an opponent or two? Then, there’s another win down the road that can’t be foreseen until 53-man rosters are finalized.
Finally, division games are difficult to predict, because of amped up energy for those games. The Jets could ride the emotion of those games to a win or two against their division rivals.
Next: 1. The defense
1. The defense
The defense has looked good in training camp, and they looked spectacular in Week 1 of the preseason. Marcus Maye looks like the real deal, and the front looks like they can attack the quarterback.
That combination is not only dangerous, but it can also help a young and developing offense. By getting sacks and forcing turnovers, the field shrinks for the offense, and that can help their confidence.
Shorter fields lead to more scoring opportunities, and the Jets have strong-armed young quarterback and wide receivers and tight ends that can attack vertically. That would put their opponents in a bind.
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It will also allow the Jets to be confident in their ability to score. The defense will keep them in many games and even help them in the scoring.
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