The New York Jets are wrapping up a disappointing season, but they won't be making any major changes at the top of the organisation.
Owner Woody Johnson told the New York Post before Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders that coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas will continue to lead the team next season.
There had been some speculation that both Saleh and Douglas were in danger of being let go, but both will keep their jobs.
"My decision is to keep them," Johnson told the newspaper before the Week 16 game. "I think we've had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces."
One piece would be the return of Aaron Rodgers, who was lost for the year after tearing his left Achilles tendon just four snaps into his Jets debut in the season opener.
Without Rodgers, the Jets will end up missing the play-offs for the 13th straight year - the longest active drought in major North American professional sports.
New York has gone 16-32 since Saleh was hired prior to the start of the 2021 season.
Johnson said the return of Rodgers next season was a factor in his decision to retain Saleh and Douglas, as well as offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
"Just to keep the continuity going with Aaron and the team we've got," Johnson said. "Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then, we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better."
Since Rodgers' injury, New York has used Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian at quarterback, but none of the three have enjoyed any success.
Entering Week 16, the 5-9 Jets ranked last in the NFL in total offence (255.1 yards per game). The defence, meanwhile, has been one of the better units in the league, ranking seventh in total yard allowed (298.4 yards per game).
'The band is back together' – Smith-Schuster and Hunt help Chiefs stay perfect
JuJu Smith-Schuster declared "the band is back together" after helping the Kansas City Chiefs stay perfect for the season with Monday's 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Smith-Schuster had seven catches for 130 yards as the Chiefs overcame the absence of injured receiver Rashee Rice to make their first 5-0 start since 2018 – the team's first campaign with Patrick Mahomes as their starting quarterback.
Kareem Hunt also excelled, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown – his first score for the Chiefs since they released him six years ago, before bringing him back last month.
Smith-Schuster, meanwhile, returned to the team in August, having played a key role in their 2022 Super Bowl-winning season.
Speaking after the victory, the former second-round draft pick said: "It's pretty cool getting the guys back. I'd say it's like the band is back together."
The Chiefs are one of just two teams, alongside the Minnesota Vikings, to boast a 100% record for the season.
Quarterback Mahomes hailed the impact of both Smith-Schuster and Hunt after their latest win, comparing the former to his favourite target, tight end Travis Kelce.
"It's a credit to not only the guys and how hard they work, but coach [Andy] Reid and just knowing their skill sets and how to put them in great positions," Mahomes said.
"Kareem just runs extremely hard. He gets every yard out there, catches the ball, does whatever it takes in order to go out there and win.
"[Smith-Schuster] fits in well in this offense and so he did a great job today. It was cool to get those guys going.
"Trav is kind of one of a kind, but he [Smith-Schuster] has a good feel for the entire concept of the play and so he knows how to get into the open spots.
"He did a good job today of beating man when they played man and finding windows to get big catches."
NFL: Champion Chiefs down Saints, move to 5-0
Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, Kareem Hunt rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Kansas City Chiefs remained unbeaten with Monday's 26-13 win over the scuffling New Orleans Saints.
The reigning two-time Super Bowl champions also got four field goals from Harrison Butker and a rushing touchdown from rookie Xavier Worthy to join the Minnesota Vikings as the only teams to start this season 5-0. It's the first time the Chiefs have won their first five games in a campaign since 2018, Mahomes' first season as the team's starting quarterback.
New Orleans has now lost three straight following a 2-0 start and had starting quarterback Derek Carr exit in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.
Carr threw touchdown passes to Rashid Shaheed and Foster Moreau before departing, but was held to 165 yards on 18-of-28 passing. The Saints managed just 220 total yards against a Kansas City defence that also intercepted Carr on the game's opening possession to stop a drive inside Chiefs' territory.
The Chiefs marched 78 yards in 10 plays following the turnover to take a 7-0 lead on Hunt's 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. They extended the margin to 10-0 on Butker's 26-yard field goal early in the second.
Shaheed hauled in Carr's deep pass for a 43-yard touchdown to get New Orleans on the board with 8:36 left before half-time, but two more Butker field goals sent Kansas City into the break owning a 16-7 advantage.
The Saints closed the gap again early in the fourth quarter, as Carr capped an 8-play, 65-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Moreau with 14:16 remaining. Kicker Blake Grupe missed the extra-point try, however, to keep the Chiefs' lead at 16-13.
Kansas City responded on the ensuing possession, though. A 50-yard completion from Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster moved the Chiefs deep into New Orleans territory, and Worthy slithered into the end zone from three yards out on a hand-off three plays later to push Kansas City's lead to 23-13 with under 12 minutes to go.
Bengals 'not a championship-level team', says Burrow after dramatic loss to Ravens
Joe Burrow said the Cincinnati Bengals are some way away from championship contention after a botched field-goal attempt saw them suffer a dramatic overtime defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
Burrow threw for five touchdowns and 392 yards – comfortably his best game of the season – in Sunday's huge AFC North matchup, but it was not enough to lead the Bengals to victory.
They lost a thrilling encounter 41-38 in overtime, Evan McPherson missing a potential game-winning field goal before Justin Tucker did the honours for Baltimore at the other end.
The defeat dropped the Bengals to 1-4, while the Ravens have now won three straight games after opening the season with surprising back-to-back defeats.
Cincinnati's four losses this year have come by a combined margin of just 15 points, but Burrow does not feel their troubles can be explained merely by bad luck.
"We're not a championship-level team right now," Burrow said. "We're not.
"I'd like to think that we'll come back and improve throughout the season to get to that point, but right now we are not and we have to get better.
"I know exactly how we are 1-4. We're not making plays at the end of the game to go and win it. I'm definitely not in disbelief. I know exactly what's happening."
Rookie punter Ryan Rehkow played a role in McPherson's decisive miss, his poor hold causing the kick to skew wide left. Head coach Zac Taylor, however, has backed his team to bounce back.
"People can write us off if they really want to," Taylor said. "I'm not dumb enough to do that."
The Ravens' game-winning field goal was teed up by a 51-yard dash by in-form running back Derrick Henry, who had 92 yards and a touchdown from 15 carries.
Henry also brought up a personal milestone by passing 10,000 career rushing yards in the second quarter, becoming the 32nd player in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since Marshawn Lynch (2017). The former Tennessee Titans star also became the 14th running back in league history to reach 100 career scrimmage touchdowns.
Asked what he saw on his huge overtime play, Henry replied: "Just green grass. Green grass and get it as close to the end zone as possible.
"I didn't get in, I should've probably stiff-armed him, but the GOAT got the field goal to win the game, and we're going home with a victory. That's all that matters.
"This win is big because of what happened today. It puts us up two in the division, so we definitely needed this one.
"It was just as important for us as it was for them. We're glad we got the victory. With everything that happened, to show the resiliency of this team. We're going to keep on fighting to the end."
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