New York Jets: The playoffs are still a possibility despite horrid start

The New York Jets still have a chance at making the postseason despite an awful 0-4 start to the season. But the path ahead certainly isn’t going to be forgiving.

The New York Jets went into the 2019 season with postseason aspirations following an offseason full of major additions. But now five weeks into the season, the team sits at a lowly 0-4 following a terrible start.

That start has been marred by injuries, poor coaching, and disappointing play as the Jets have been among the worst teams in football. Call it misfortune or call it poor execution. Whatever the reason, the Jets are a bad football team right now.

But in the unpredictable world of the NFL, anything is truly possible.

While it may seem a bit rich to be talking about the playoffs when the team has yet to even win a game, they still remain an outside possibility. But before this team could even think about a postseason berth, they must first show signs of competence on offense.

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The Jets haven’t just lost their first four games of the season — they’ve looked downright inept for the last three and a half of those games. Much of that has been due to the offense’s anemic display brought on by numerous injuries.

Most notably to starting quarterback Sam Darnold — and then to backup quarterback Trevor Siemian. It has been the Luke Falk show for the last couple of weeks ever since Darnold’s bout with mononucleosis and Siemian’s broken ankle suffered in Week 2.

But the Jets’ franchise savior is set to return in Week 6 after missing the last three games. And those three games have felt like an eternity.

Sure it certainly hasn’t been all on Falk. The offensive play-calling has been questionable to say the least and the offensive line has been among the worst units in the entire league. Darnold doesn’t fix all of these issues, but he certainly helps.

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As does the return of Chris Herndon to the offense, the return of Brandon Copeland on defense, and the hopeful returns of C.J. Mosley and Jordan Jenkins. We saw rookie Quinnen Williams make a big impact in his return from injury last week.

Perhaps the same could happen when the others take the field once again. And if the Jets do pick up their play, the postseason isn’t as unlikely as most would assume.

Despite sitting at a winless 0-4, the Jets are only 2.5 games back of the Oakland Raiders who currently hold the sixth seed in the AFC with a 3-2 record. In fact, less than half of the conference currently has an under-.500 winning percentage.

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Now that isn’t to say that the Jets can or will win each of those games. Rather, this shows that the Jets do still have a chance to make the postseason if the cards fall the right way.

An easy schedule and an AFC lacking in top-tier teams give the Jets a glimmer of hope if they could improve their play. But of course, none of this matters if the Jets continue to play as they have through four games.

Before setting their sights on the postseason, the Jets must first set their sights on winning a single game. Nobody should get their hopes up — especially after what we’ve seen through five weeks.

But it isn’t unfair to keep the thought in the back of our minds that the Jets can, in fact, still make the playoffs.

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While all hope may seem lost, the opportunity is still there so long as the New York Jets can claim it.

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