NY Jets rooting guide for Week 15: Which teams should fans want to win?

The NY Jets playoff hopes are still alive entering Week 15. Those hopes may be hanging on by a thread, but there is still a world in which the Jets reach the postseason in 2023 and end their 12-year playoff drought.

It may not be likely, but the Jets still have a chance to make the playoffs this season. Of course, it would require the team to win out and receive a lot of hope along the way, but it is possible.

The Jets need to handle business of their own against the Miami Dolphins in Week 15. On paper, this is probably the toughest game remaining on the team's schedule, and a win on Sunday leaves the playoff door slightly open and maybe, just maybe, could lead to Aaron Rodgers returning.

Even if the Jets were to win out, the New York Times playoff simulator only gives the team a 12 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. But if a few games go their way this week, those odds could skyrocket.

Here is what Jets fans pining for a playoff appearance should be rooting for in Week 15.

NY Jets rooting guide for Week 15

• Minnesota Vikings @ Cincinnati Bengals
• Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts (toss-up)
• Denver Broncos @ Detroit Lions
• Chicago Bears @ Cleveland Browns
• New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots
• Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
• Dallas Cowboys @ Buffalo Bills

There are eight games this week, including the Jets game, that will have serious implications for the AFC playoff picture. The good news for the Jets is that only one of those games involves two wild-card hopefuls playing each other.

The Steelers/Colts game is really a toss-up for rooting guide purposes. Both teams sit at 7-6 with the same conference record, and neither will play the Jets this season. I'd lean toward rooting for the Colts simply because they're probably the better team, but it's ultimately a toss-up.

The other outcomes are rather straightforward. The Jets should want the Vikings to beat the Bengals, the Lions to beat the Broncos, the Bears to beat the Browns, the Patriots to beat the Chiefs, the Titans to beat the Texans, and the Cowboys to beat the Bills.

If, by some miracle, all of those 7-8 win teams in the AFC lose this weekend and the Jets win, their odds of making the playoffs would balloon to 27 percent. That's over double what their current odds are at the time of writing.

Of course, having all eight games go their way is highly unlikely, but the Jets could still see their odds increase a significant amount if a few of those results work in their favor.

Of all the games, the Vikings/Bengals game seems to have the biggest impact on the Jets' postseason hopes. Even if every other result works out for the Jets, a Bengals win could shrink Gang Green's playoff odds to around 18 percent — a whopping difference of nine percentage points.

The Jets have a path to the playoffs in 2023. It's not an easy path, but it's a possible path.