NFL Predictions: Jets Have Hope to Avoid an 0-17 Season, According to Proven Model

M! E! S! S! Mess! Mess! Mess!

The New York Jets are currently enduring another disastrous season. Sitting at 0-7, they stand alone as the only winless team in the NFL, staring down the barrel of what could be their 10th consecutive losing season. Their offensive struggles are glaring, ranking dead last in the league in passing offense, averaging a paltry 143.4 yards per game. Overall, their total offense fares only slightly better, placing fourth from the bottom with 271.3 yards per contest. Adding insult to injury, their inability to generate turnovers is historically bad, having forced only a single turnover – the fewest by any NFL team through seven games in the past 85 years.

Compounding their woes is a significant problem at the quarterback position. Justin Fields, in his debut season with New York, has struggled mightily. He’s the first NFL quarterback since Joey Harrington in 2006 to record fewer than 50 passing yards in consecutive starts. After being benched by first-year head coach Aaron Glenn on Sunday, Fields is in danger of losing his starting job to veteran journeyman Tyrod Taylor, who is 36 years old.

With each passing week without a victory, the possibility of a historically bad 0-17 season becomes increasingly real. The question looms: What are the actual odds of the Jets joining the dubious company of the 1982 Baltimore Colts as the only winless teams in the modern era? SportsLine’s Inside the Lines team and their Projection Model have analyzed the data and provided an answer.

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, indicates that the Jets enter their Week 8 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with a 0.6% chance of losing their remaining 10 games and becoming the first 0-17 team in NFL history. (Insert obligatory "So you’re telling me there’s a chance" Dumb and Dumber joke here.)

If the Jets suffer a loss on Sunday to the Bengals (who are favored by 6.5 points), that percentage would rise to 1.0%.

Despite the despair among New York fans, who have witnessed a series of blunders and missteps this season, there is a glimmer of hope. The Jets’ remaining schedule offers a potential path to at least one victory. The team still has five games remaining against teams that currently have a losing record: the Bengals (3-4), Cleveland Browns (2-5), Baltimore Ravens (1-5), Miami Dolphins (1-6), and New Orleans Saints (1-6). According to the Projection Model, the Jets’ remaining strength of schedule is ranked as the eighth easiest in the league.

Essentially, the Jets’ chances of going winless increase by approximately 1.0% with each loss they suffer throughout November. A critical juncture will arrive in Week 14 when they face the Miami Dolphins at home. If the Jets are still winless at that point and lose to the similarly struggling Dolphins, falling to 0-13, their chances of going winless would skyrocket from 8.2% to 21.1%. The Jets’ final four games consist of a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, another road game against the Saints, and then home games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium to conclude the regular season.

Aeron