The New York Jets face an unenviable situation this Sunday. They must go on the road and defeat the Miami Dolphins, (1 p.m. ET/CBS) then must hope that a combination of other factors fall into place. If those things don't happen the Jets will go home without a playoff berth for the first time in Rex Ryan's three seasons as coach.
"You wish it was like last year, where you go into that last game with a little breathing room because you know you're already in but obviously we haven't earned that right yet, and so we have to do it the hard way," Ryan said. "Absolutely we hope that luck is with us, but we can only affect the game that we are playing and that is where our entire focus needs to be."
The Jets enter a must-win week with questions swirling around quarterback Mark Sanchez and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
The Dolphins, now coached by Todd Bowles after the firing of Tony Sparano, have gone 5-3 after an 0-7 start. They lost by a field goal, 27-24, last Sunday after building a 17-0 lead against the New England Patriots.
-- See Gang Green Nation for more discussion of the Jets.