After Week 1, I predicted the Patriots would finish 10-6 or 11-5. With one game to go that counts as a bullseye prediction for ol’ Muttrox.
The Pats need to beat the Bills. Assuming they do, then we need the Jets to beat the Dolphins. If that happens, we’re automatically in as division winners. The Jets have been eliminated (I think). Mangini and Bellicek hate each other. Would Mangini actually throw a game just to keep the Pats out? I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone throws games in the NFL.
In baseball or basketball, no individual game means that much for job security. In the NFL, every game is huge. For a coach, the difference between 10-6 and 9-7 could mean his job. Throwing a game would be very very risky. I also believe the most players are incapable of throwing games. I have tried to throw poker games and for the most part I just can’t. And I’m certainly not a professional who got there partially because of my killer competitive instinct.
This season once again shows how the division structure is unfair. The Pats, Jets, and Dolphins are all good teams. Certainly better than the crappy Cardinals we humiliated last week. Nevertheless, the Patriots could easily go 11-5 and not make the playoffs. Is that bad, or part of what makes football interesting?
The Jets are still alive — they need to win, plus a Pats loss to win the division. They still have wild card possibilities too, but need help.
So, no way the Jets are trying to lose. Plus, plenty of other factors going on.
One, the Jets hate the Dolphins. If you ask a true Jets fan (of which I am not one, by the way) who they’d rather knock out of the playoffs, as many would say Miami as New England. Sure, the Pats have been a pain for the Jets for the past few years, but have been mediocre-to-doormats for the majority of their existence. The Dolphins have almost always been good for the past 30-something years, and have always been a thorn in the Jets side.
Two, Chad Pennington. The Jets decide this guy’s not the guy to take them anywhere, bench him last year, and jettison him this year for Favre, to great fanfare. Now the thought of Pennington coming in and knocking the Jets out of the playoffs, and celebrating on their own field, is nauseating for Jets fans. Would be great from my perspective, though…
Three, Mangini’s job status. The talk in the NY area is that Mangini’s job is on the line with this game. If the Jets kick Miami’s butt, then the fans may cut him a bit of a break, even if they don’t get the help they need to make the playoffs. But if the hated ‘fins rub their noses in it on their home turf, Mangini will likely be out.