This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why Rex Ryan's Super Bowl guarantees should be taken as seriously as political commentary from Snookie.
Here we are, with six games left, and the New York Jets' dreams of playing in Indianapolis come February have taken a back seat to a mind-set of survival. The Jets (5-5) have to win all their remaining games now, because that's the only way they'll feel confident about making the playoffs.
"Six-and-0," linebacker Calvin Pace said, according to the New York Daily News. "Sometimes when you get caught losing to teams you're not supposed to lose to, you end up kicking yourself in the butt saying, 'Man, we put ourselves behind the eight-ball. These are games we should win.'"
Said running back LaDainian Tomlinson: "I feel like we do have to win these last six games. That would put us at 11-5; that should be enough to get us in. You look at 10-6, and I don't know if that is enough."
The Jets are 4-5 in conference games, with losses to the Patriots (twice), Raiders, Ravens, and Broncos. New York has three AFC games left beginning Sunday at home against the Bills, as well as games against the Chiefs and at the Dolphins. The Jets also have three out-of-conference games, with two on the road (at the Eagles and Redskins) and a showdown with the Giants.
Winning the AFC East is all but out of the question for the Jets. And considering they're currently behind the Titans and Broncos, who they lost to last week, and lost to potential wild-card teams in the Raiders and Ravens, the Jets are on the outside looking in. So, yeah, we agree that finishing 6-0 is the Jets' only option at this point.
"We have to win. I don't care who's in front of us," Ryan said. "Obviously, we've had some difficult games, but we've just got to line them up. We've got to string something together and see what happens.
"I'll take luck, skill, anything. We just want to get in there, and when we do, we'll see what happens."
