NFL

Jets have thin margin for error in AFC playoff race

For the Jets, the playoffs start now.

Gang Green plays host to the Dolphins on Sunday knowing as the calendar turns to December, they no longer have much wiggle room. One more loss and any hope of appearing in the postseason gets slim.

“Clearly we recognize that this is a huge game for us,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Whether mathematically it eliminates you from things, it probably doesn’t, but our urgency is the fact that we feel we need to win this game, absolutely.”

The Jets are tied with five other teams at 5-6 vying for the final AFC wild-card spot. The Dolphins are also in that same category, making this game feel like an elimination game on the way to the actual playoffs.

“We are behind the eight ball and we put ourselves there,” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “We are stuck behind a bunch of [teams] that are 5-6 and some people have the tiebreaker over us, so we have to win the rest of them.”

Pace is right about the tiebreakers. Of the 5-6 teams, the Jets lost to the Steelers, Ravens and Titans already, so they would lose head-to-head tiebreakers to them. The Jets only have two AFC wins, which also will hurt them if they end up tied with a team they don’t play.

Ryan emphasized to his team it can’t look ahead to the entirety of what is in front of it, and must concentrate on the Dolphins. But the Jets players know the road ahead. They need to go 4-1 to get to 9-7, which most likely would be enough to be tied for the final spot. With a game against the red-hot Panthers in Carolina in two weeks, you have to figure they will be underdogs in that game, leaving them no room for error.

“We all know how important this game is,” Ryan said. “You can sense it. Not that all games aren’t, but this one is definitely a critical game for us and Miami as well.”

This is familiar territory for the Jets, who have been in similar situations in four of their five seasons under Ryan. In 2009, they found a way to turn 5-6 into a playoff berth after winning the final two games of the season. In both 2011 and 2012, they lost the final three games of the season and missed the playoffs.

“I don’t know if it’s been like this, we had that many teams lumped in with the same record or one game apart,” Ryan said. “But again, I know the approach has to be focused here. It can’t be long-term. It has to be taking care of in the present. I think that’s where the big focus is.”

The Jets are 4-1 at MetLife Stadium and have three games left there, starting with Sunday’s. If they can win their home games and beat the Dolphins in Florida in the last week of the season, they have a shot at the playoffs. But that final game could be irrelevant if the Jets stumble this week.

“We know there’s not too much room for error,” tight end Jeff Cumberland said. “We know the season is coming to a close. We’re taking it one game at a time and not looking forward. If we don’t get past them, looking forward doesn’t mean much at all.”