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Rex Ryan obviously wasn't too thrilled with the way that his Jets got absolutely manhandled by the Patriots last night, but those at Ravens headquarters are probably pleased with how the Monday nighter went down.
While both New England and the J-E-T-S were 9-2 and had a game-and-a-half lead over the Ravens going into the game, a Jets loss helps the Ravens much more than a Pats defeat would have.
The Ravens have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Jets thanks to their Week 1 win at the new Meadowlands, which means that if the two teams are tied for one of the Wild Card spots, Baltimore will get the edge.
The head-to-head tiebreaker doesn't work in the Ravens' favor when it comes to the Pats, however, so because one team had to move to 10-2 last night, it's better for the Ravens that it was New England.
While Tom Brady and company now have the edge for the AFC East title and a first-round bye, the Jets are just a game up on Baltimore for the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
New York actually has a fairly rough road the rest of the way out, facing the Dolphins, Steelers, Bears and Bills, with the two most difficult games over the final month of the regular season (against Pittsburgh and Chicago) being on the road.
It's entirely possible that even if the Ravens miss out on the AFC North title, they jump the Jets and earn that top Wild Card spot.
That would mean their first-round matchup would be against the No. 4 seed - the lower seeded division winner of either the AFC West or AFC South.
It's not much consolation after the loss to Pittsburgh Sunday night, but it's something positive. And the Ravens have Brady and the Pats to thank for that bit of positive news.
