With the New York Jets’ season so far out of control that it demanded a firing of their defensive coordinator (to Sauce Gardner’s dismay), many Jets fans are committed to the team’s tanking endeavors.

Those efforts took a big step forward on Sunday, when the Jets’ loss, coupled with wins by the Washington Commanders and the New Orleans Saints, pushed New York up from the No. 7 pick to the No. 5 pick.

New York Giants: 2-12 (.536 SOS)

Las Vegas Raiders: 2-12 (.548)

Tennessee Titans: 2-12 (.576)

Cleveland Browns: 3-11 (.483)

New York Jets: 3-11 (.538)

Arizona Cardinals: 3-11 (.571)

New Orleans Saints: 4-10 (.494)

Washington Commanders: 4-10 (.508)

Cincinnati Bengals: 4-10 (.521)

LA Rams via Atlanta: 5-9 (.502)

The 3-11 Jets are now firmly back in the race for the top overall draft pick. They are one game back of the No. 1 slot, which features a tie between three 2-12 teams: the New York Giants, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Tennessee Titans.

The Jets also trail the 3-11 Cleveland Browns, who hold the No. 4 pick thanks to their weaker strength of schedule compared to the Jets (.483 vs. .538). The SOS margin is too large for the Jets to have a chance of stealing the tiebreaker, so they will have to finish with an outright worse record than Cleveland to surpass them in the draft order.

While the Jets will need each of the four teams above them to win at least one game to have a chance at the first overall pick, the good news is that New York is positioned to win potential strength-of-schedule tiebreakers with any of the three 2-12 teams.

The Jets’ SOS is .538, lower than that of two of the three teams tied for the first overall pick: Las Vegas (.548) and Tennessee (.576). Only the Giants (.536) have a weaker schedule, but the margin is small enough that the Jets have a realistic chance of stealing the tiebreaker over the next three weeks.

This potential tiebreaking scenario between the two New York teams is why the Jets have a stake in Monday night’s contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins.

Why Jets fans should root for Pittsburgh on MNF

Through Week 15’s Sunday games, the Giants’ opponents have a 126-109-3 record (17 wins over .500). The Jets’ opponents have a 126-108-1 record (18 wins over .500), meaning the Jets trail the Giants by only a half-game in the SOS standings.

That half-game can be made up in Pittsburgh tonight.

Monday night’s game features a team that the Jets play once (the Steelers) against a team that the Jets play twice (the Dolphins). Either way, a Jets opponent is going to win, but since the Dolphins count twice on the Jets’ SOS, it would be more beneficial for the Jets’ draft tiebreaking hopes if Miami lost. It would tack one win and two losses onto the Jets’ opponent record.

If the Steelers defeat the Dolphins tonight, the Jets’ opponent record would drop to 127-110-1, putting them in a dead-lock tie with the Giants heading into Week 16. From there, it’d be anybody’s game.

If Miami wins, the Jets’ opponent record would rise to 128-109-1, a full game better than the Giants’ opponents, meaning the Jets would have some extra ground to make up over the next three weeks.

The Giants have an extremely winnable schedule to finish the season, featuring three losing teams and the league’s third-easiest remaining slate based on win percentage (.345). They will host the 6-8 Vikings, visit the 2-12 Raiders (guaranteeing that at least one team ahead of the Jets will win a game; well, they could tie), and host the 6-7-1 Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Jets have the league’s eighth-hardest remaining slate based on win percentage (.595). They will visit the surging 4-10 Saints in a critical tank battle, host the 11-3 Patriots, and visit the 10-4 Bills.

There is a very good chance that the Jets and Giants will end up tied in the draft order. If that comes to pass, strength of schedule will determine who gets the higher pick, and tonight’s game in Pittsburgh is the first of many results that will play a role in sorting that tiebreaker out.

While there is less urgency for the Jets to pass the Giants than, say, the Raiders or Browns, as the Giants do not need a quarterback, leap-frogging the Giants could still be beneficial, as it might allow the Jets to save draft picks they may otherwise have to send to their cross-town rivals in a trade-up move to secure a quarterback.

Every little victory matters for this down-and-out Jets franchise as they attempt to climb from being among the 10 worst teams from scrimmage in NFL history to a serious playoff contender.