The writing had been on the wall for weeks, but math finally kicked in Thursday night to eliminate the Jets from playoff contention.
Head coach Todd Bowles said it’s still business as usual, though, and that it wouldn’t change anything over the Jets’ final four games.
“No, we’re trying to win,” Bowles said Friday.
Leonard Williams said he couldn’t help but notice as the Jets’ fate was locked in by the Titans’ win Thursday night.
“It’s something you pay attention to because that’s what we’re playing for,” Williams said. “Obviously everyone wants to go to the playoffs. Everyone wants to play for a championship. It sucks that we’re knocked out of that, but at the same time, we see it every year — teams check out when they start to lose. When they’re not going to the playoffs, you see guys not in it. That’s what I love about this team is everyone is still involved.”
The defensive end went 10-6 as a rookie in 2015, when the Jets just missed out on the postseason because of a tiebreaker that favored the Steelers for the final wild card. There was no close call this season as the Jets will watch the playoffs from home for an eighth straight year, tied for the second-longest drought in team history.
While Jets fans will continue to set their sights on a high draft pick — they entered the week with an 18 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, per ESPN — the players will carry on.
“You can tell guys are tired of it — they want to win, no more losing,” Williams said. “I think it shows a lot.”
RB Isaiah Crowell (toe), WR Robby Anderson (ankle), DB Buster Skrine (shoulder/hip) and TE Jordan Leggett (knee) are all questionable.