Actually, looking back on it, those four 9-7 teams were fighting for a single wildcard spot, as the Colts at 10-6 earned the 5th seed uncontested. That in itself brings up an interesting sidenote, especially for us New York fans. I have argued that a tougher division produces better teams, and the 2002 AFC East is almost certainly the greatest division in the history of the NFL. The worst team was 8-8. So the supposedly worse 9-7 Jets hosted the allegedly better 10-6 Colts, and spanked them 41-0, proving that you can’t judge which team is better based on record alone. But anyway, back on point:
The four 9-7 teams fighting for the single remaining wildcard spot were the Dolphins, Patriots, Browns, and Broncos, and the Jets were the fifth 9-7 team who won their division.
Obviously, as Frank #2 pointed out, the Jets were better than the Dolphins and Patriots based simply on the divisional tiebreakers. So the question is, were the Browns or Broncos better than the Jets?
The Jets beat the Broncos 19-13 in week 14. But interestingly, the Jets lost to the the Browns 24-21 in week 8.
So one could argue that the 9-7 Browns should have gone in ahead of the 9-7 Jets due to the fact that the Browns won outright in head to head play, which is the ultimate tiebreaker in the NFL. Of course, the Browns did earn the final wildcard spot, which is impressive when you consider that the Browns’ win over the Jets was not a factor in determining who got that wildcard spot. But one could argue that the Jets should have been the 6th seed, the Browns should have been 5th, and the Colts 4th.
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sigh
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Sorry, I’m just wistfully remembering the glory that was the 2002 season. Shockey’s explosive rookie year, Scary Kerry pitched a perfect 158.3 against the Colts, who also got hammered mercilessly by the Jets in the playoffs. The torch was passed when Testeverde was benched, ushering in the age of The Chad, who put up an NFL record 100+ passer rating for a season. That was a magical year for New York football. Strange how the NFC suspended all playoff activity in the third quarter of the wildcard round for no apparent reason. It’s too bad, I bet there could have been a good Superbowl that year…