An overtime loss was all NFL analysts needed to write off the Jets

After so many years of heartbreaking finishes and inept management, we’d reached a point this past summer where it felt like there were legitimately positive vibes surrounding Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets.

Well, that didn’t last long. Much of the excitement generated by a busy offseason and a Week 1 victory over the Titans has seemingly vanished, partly stemming from last Sunday’s overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers. Although Glenn has escaped significant criticism, the fanbase is nonetheless watching the national media turn on the Jets once again.

Look no further than the NFL itself, and we’re not referring to their lack of nationally televised Jets games. NFL Media, an entity owned by the league itself, has a weekly update where five analysts ​— Jeremy Bergman, Brooke Cersosimo, Gennaro Filice, Bobby Kownack, and Dan Parr — pick that week’s games. Nothing crazy, right?

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that all five picked the Detroit Lions (1-1) to beat the Jets this Sunday. 

“As Week 2 proved, the Jets still need to learn how to win,” Bergman wrote. “New York is close, but the lesson won’t come this week against a tested Lions team.”

NFL analysts clearly learned nothing by unanimously picking the Detroit Lions to beat the New York Jets

We’re all adults, so let’s put bias aside. The same five unanimously agreed that the Buccaneers would rout the Browns last week, with Filice even predicting a 36-9 Tampa win. Oops. Probably not a good time to remind them that Deshaun Watson and Cleveland pulled off the stunning road victory. 

In fact, that wasn't the only game where all five predicted the outcome and were proven wrong. The Saints, Vikings, and Raiders overcame the odds last week, as did the Cardinals in Week 1. So that’s five games over an eight-day period where the fivesome was all incorrect.

Common sense dictates that maybe, just maybe, you’d want to go against the grain. Yet the group reached a consensus on ten teams — the Lions, Packers, Bills, Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Bengals, Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams — handling business in Week 3. If you’re looking for an easy parlay, pick some of those teams’ opponents to win outright; the Falcons followed through on Thursday night, upsetting the Packers at Lambeau.

Analysts overwhelmingly picking against a team is nothing new, and that’s not the issue. We simply find it amusing that despite suffering five such losses (though they claim they went 11-4 on their consensus picks) over the first two weeks, everyone feels the Lions will beat the Jets on Sunday. 

As for the idea that the Jets “still need to learn how to win,” has anyone else watched the Cardinals or Raiders? We just saw Cleveland survive the Florida humidity and an extended weather delay to take down the Buccaneers. Is anyone giving Klint Kubiak or Todd Monken their flowers yet? 

Do we expect the Jets to pull off a 14-point win at Ford Field? Probably not, no. But if losing in overtime was apparently enough to turn NFL media against Glenn’s squad, then it’ll probably be a bit before they change the narrative.  

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