The Athletic's NFL misery index gives Jets fans a small sliver of hope

The New York Jets are 0-5. Despite a few tight losses, it has been a completely miserable showing that has seen the club humiliated both by their own play on the field and the reactions of their rivals to it.

Even their former head coach's brother has taken the opportunity to call out the franchise, and he's not wrong. So when The Athletic (subscription required) released its NFL Misery Index, the only surprise was that the Jets weren't the first team mentioned.

The author, Mike Sando, astutely points out that despite a new head coach, it's been the same old story for the Jets as Aaron Glenn sinks into the abyss. Chief among the miseries is a historically bad defense, led by the embattled Steve Wilks, which, according to Sando, has put up the team's worst EPA through five games since 2007.

Despite some flashes, the underpowered offense hasn't been able to overcome the defense's deficiencies, but amid the dark clouds and grim prognostications, Sando points out that there may be a silver lining.

Mike Sando's NFL misery index for The Athletic provides Jets fans with an extremely slim glimmer of hope

In his piece, Sando notes that "the schedule matters" while listing off the gauntlet of quarterbacks the Jets have faced, which includes Josh Allen, a hungry-for-revenge Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott, just to name a few.

In fact, Dak Prescott and Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield rank second and fourth, respectively, in passing yards so far this season. Allen, last year's MVP, ironically had his worst performance of the season against the Jets, though it didn't matter in the 30-10 dismantling.

The Jets are the NFL's only winless team at this point of the season, but their early-season schedule hasn't been a cakewalk. Three of their five opponents are division leaders, with the Bills and Bucs sitting at 4-1, and the Steelers at 3-1 thanks to their Week 5 bye. The Cowboys are .500-ish, sitting at 2-2-1 thanks to a Week 4 tie against the Green Bay Packers.

Only the 1-4 Dolphins have a losing record, and while they have their deficiencies, their talent on paper is much better than what their record shows. In total, the Jets' opponents so far have a 14-9-1 record.

However, the rest of the way things look a bit lighter. There will still be some challenges, for example, the Bills on the road remain on the slate. But overall, the Jets' remaining opponents have a 26-26 record (note, at the time of this writing, Monday Night Football has yet to be played).

At the end of the day, it doesn't change the fact that this is a deeply flawed team, but with an easier schedule on the horizon, things might start looking a little bit brighter than they do at the current moment.

Of course, without massive improvements from the defensive unit and consistency being built on the offensive side of the ball, the misery will surely continue. It might just be a hair better than how it feels right now.

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