The New York Jets are losing the battle of attrition this season.
Head coach Aaron Glenn announced during his Wednesday, December 17 media availability that several key players will be out for the New Orleans Saints game this week.
“When it comes to injuries, I’ll tell you a couple of guys who will be out. So Mason [Taylor] will be out, TA [Tony Adams] will be out, Eric Watts will be out, and Kiko [Francisco Mauigoa] will be out. I think for the most part that really sums up some of the injuries,” Coach Glenn revealed. “They will be out this week.”
That means the Jets will be down their strarting tight end, starting safety, a rotational defensive end, and a rotational linebacker.
This Game Has Massive Implications Moving Forward
The Jets at 3-11 and the Saints at 4-10 have long since been eliminated from the playoffs. So what implications exist in this contest? The 2026 NFL draft of course.
According to Tankathon, if the draft started today, the Jets would hold the No. 5 overall pick and the Saints would hold the No. 7 overall pick, respectively.
The ESPN FPI [Football Power Index] analytics project that the Jets will end up with the fifth pick and the Saints will end up with the eighth pick.
According to those same analytics, only five teams in the league have a shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick.
Those teams include: the Las Vegas Raiders (39.8%), Tennessee Titans (19.2%), Cleveland Browns (18.9%), New York Giants (16%), and the Jets (5.7%).
A win by the green and white against the Saints would all but eliminate them from potentially landing the top pick.
Assessing the Jets-Saints Matchup Based on Analytics
The Jets will take the road to New Orleans to battle the Saints.
Gang Green is 1-5 on the road this season. While Who Dat is 2-5 at home.
The Saints opened as a 1.5-point favorite over the Jets at the beginning of the week. More money has moved in the direction of New Orleans, increasing that spread, making the Saints a 4.5-point favorite, per Vegas Insider.
The wheels are coming off for the Jets. They have lost four of their last five games by an average margin of 19.5 points.
The same can’t be said for the Saints. New Orleans has won two in a row and three of their last five. Not only have the Saints won, but they have beaten some quality opponents as well.
In those wins, the Saints swept the 7-7 Carolina Panthers and upset the 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both of those teams beat the Jets earlier this season.
ESPN analytics project that the Saints have a 63.9% advantage over the Jets in this game.
Tip of the Cap for the Tanking Crowd in the Audience
This Saints game feels like the last obstacle for the Jets to get past if they want to lose out.
The final two games of the season for the Jets are at home against the New England Patriots and a road trip to play the Buffalo Bills.
The Jets were outscored 57 to 24 in the first matchups with the Pats and Bills, respectively.
Losing out would put the Jets in a position to finish with a top-three selection in the 2026 NFL draft. New Orleans feels like the final infinity stone to make that dream a reality for the tanking members of Jets Nation.
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