Mark Sanchez lies face down on the turf after the Jets failed to gain a first down with under a minute left in the game. (Dec. 12, 2010) Credit: David Pokress
It's been three days since sure-handed Jets receiver Santonio Holmes opted to drop a wide-open touchdown pass in Sunday's loss to Miami. Final score of that game? 10-6. Dagger.
One play, one game? Maybe, maybe now. That loss, coupled with Baltimore's win, dropped the Jets to the No. 6 seed. But, they're still two games up in the wild-card race, give or take a crazy tiebreaker scenario, with three games to play.
So here's our weekly look at the playoff picture in the AFC with three weeks left for the nine teams at .500 or better, plus remaining schedule information. As luck would have it, the Jets currently have the hardest strength of schedule remaining, and it went up from last week.
1. New England Patriots 11-2
2. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-3
3. Kansas City Chiefs 8-5
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 8-5
5. Baltimore Ravens 9-4
6. New York Jets 9-4
7. San Diego Chargers 7-6
8. Indianapolis Colts 7-6
9. Miami Dolphins 7-6
Key games coming up in Week 15
Jets at Steelers
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Remaining schedules for each team
New England
Dec. 19: vs. Green Bay (8-5)
Dec. 26: at Buffalo (3-10)
Jan. 2: vs. Miami (7-6)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 18-21 (.462)
Steelers
Dec. 19: vs. Jets (9-4)
Dec. 23: vs. Carolina (1-12)
Jan. 2: at Cleveland (5-8)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 15-24 (.385)
Kansas City
Dec. 19: at St. Louis (6-7)
Dec. 26: vs. Tennessee (5-8)
Jan. 2: vs. Oakland (6-7)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 17-22 (.436)
Jacksonville
Dec. 19: at Indianapolis (7-6)
Dec. 26: vs. Washington (5-8)
Jan. 2: at Houston (5-8)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 17-22 (.436)
Baltimore
Dec. 19: vs. New Orleans (10-3)
Dec. 26: at Cleveland (5-8)
Jan. 2: vs. Cincinnati (2-11)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 17-22 (.436)
Jets
Dec. 19: at Pittsburgh (10-3)
Dec. 26: at Chicago (9-4)
Jan. 2: vs. Buffalo (3-10)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 22-17 (.564)
San Diego
Dec. 16: vs. San Francisco (5-8)
Dec. 26: at Cincinnati (2-11)
Jan. 2: at Denver (3-10)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 10-29 (.256)
Indianapolis
Dec. 19: vs. Jacksonville (8-5)
Dec. 26: at Oakland (6-7)
Jan. 2: vs. Tennessee (5-8)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 19-20 (.487)
Miami
Dec. 19: vs. Buffalo (3-10)
Dec. 26: vs. Detroit (3-10)
Jan. 2: at New England (11-2)
Combined record of remaining opponents: 17-22 (.436)
