The New York Jets won the game of football on Sunday for the first time in 358 days, but they may have suffered a loss that felt much longer than that.
With the 23-20 upset of the Los Angeles Rams, the Jets (1-13) left their front-runner position to pick No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars have similar records, but the Jaguars have the edge of a tiebreaker because they have played a poor schedule. The Jets had their shot Clemson quarterback Trevor Larens, supposedly the top pick.
In any other season, a quality team like the Rams (9-5) to win would spark a celebration among Jets fans. Not this time. The fan base has been buzzing about the possibility of Lawrence’s choice, but the draft landscape has changed.
The Jets may have to turn their gaze to the second quarterback in the draft or stay with the incoming Sam Darnold, who passed 207 yards and touched down in the most efficient performance of his campaign. He did it against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
With the win, the Jets set a record in a 13-game losing franchise.
The visiting jets closed as a 17-point underdog against Los Angeles. It was tied for the second biggest upset win for him in the Super Bowl era; The only major was the 1968 Pro Football Championship vs. Baltimore (+18).
This is the third straight season that is an underdog of more than 17 points and it has won absolutely. ESPN There were only three such upsets from 1978 to 2017, according to statistics and data.
As a result of Sunday’s decision, the Jets will not join the 2017 Cleveland Browns and 2008 Detroit Lions as the only 0-16 teams in NFL history.
Unlike two weeks ago, when they gave the Las Vegas Raiders a late lead, the Jets didn’t crumble in crunch time against the Rams. New York took a 20-3 lead in the fourth quarter when the scoreboard read 23-22 and did not lose its pose. It was a shallow performance by the Jets’ defense, who played in the fourth quarter without star defensive technical Quinn Williams (head injury).
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