When the hapless Jets could finally — mercifully — pick up a first win

There is only one left with zero.

The Jets (0-5) are the last winless team in the NFL — a dubious distinction that they have held two other times in the past 30 years.

The 1996 team started 0-8 en route to a 1-15 finish and the end of the Rich Kotite Era, while the 2020 team dropped its first 13 games before a strange two-game winning streak near the end of Adam Gase’s tenure.

Quinnen Williams and Thomas Hennessy are the last remaining Jets from that 2020 disaster, and you have to wonder if Williams still has some emotional trauma.

“The season is about to start rolling … and you don’t want to look up and be 0-10,” Williams said after the Week 3 loss.

Head coach Aaron Glenn is no stranger to this position, either. He played for those 1996 Jets, and was defensive coordinator for the 2021 Lions, who stood alone at 0-10-1 on their way to a 3-13-1 season.

“We’re 0-5 and we own that,” Glenn said, “but I do know this: That’s not going to stop us from doing everything we can to win. We are here to win now — like every other coach is.”

So, when might the Jets get their first win?

There is no shortage of realistic opportunities, according to VegasInsider.com’s look-ahead lines. While things change, the Jets are favorites twice and slight 1.5-point underdogs four times.

Oct. 19 vs. Panthers (2-3), -1.5 points

Let’s put aside the fantasy of catching the Broncos — who just beat the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles — napping Sunday in London.

The Jets are foregoing the traditional post-Europe bye week to jump right back in against the Jekyll-and-Hyde Panthers, who have a 30-point win and a 29-point loss.

If you want to play the common-opponents game, the Panthers just overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Dolphins one week after the Dolphins controlled a win against the Jets.

Oct. 26 at Bengals (2-3), +7.5 points

Newly acquired quarterback Joe Flacco — who went 1-8 as a Jets starter from 2020-22 — should be up to speed with the playbook by this point. That doesn’t mean he won’t be a sitting duck behind a porous offensive line, however.

Not facing the injured Joe Burrow is a break, but not facing Burrow’s interception-prone backup Browning (eight in four games) is a bad fortune. Especially when the Jets defense could use someone to hand over its first takeaway of the season.

The Bengals have the NFL’s worst point differential (-71).

Nov. 9 vs. Browns (1-4), -2.5 points

Glenn’s staff will have two weeks to prepare for a rookie quarterback. Whether that’s Dillon Gabriel (making his second career start Sunday) or Shedeur Sanders remains to be seen.

The Browns ranked No. 31 in points scored

Before Flacco was benched for Gabriel, the Browns somehow beat the Super Bowl hopeful Packers 13-10 in Week 2. That appears to be an aberration, but there is enough talent on the Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward-led defense (No. 2 in the NFL with 247.8 yards per game) to win a low-scoring affair.

Nov. 23 at Ravens (1-4), +11.5 points

Sounds crazy, right?

It’s not in the franchise DNA to mail in a season, but who knows how the injury-plagued Ravens will recover from last week’s franchise-record-setting 34-point home loss to the Texans.

Will Lamar Jackson — who could miss a second straight game this week with a hamstring injury — be fully healthy? Which of seven missing starters will be back on a defense that is keeping the Jets (31.4 points per game) out of the basement in scoring (35.4)?

Nov. 30 vs. Falcons (2-2), +1.5 points

This feels like a trap point spread.

The Falcons have the NFL’s best total defense (244 yards per game) and passing defense (135). How can the weapons-challenged Jets move the ball?

Michael Penix, Jr. quieted some noise about his starting job with a big passing performance before the bye week.

Dec. 7 vs. Dolphins (1-4), +1.5 points

At this point, the Dolphins could be a rudderless ship stripped for parts.

Will hot-seat head coach Mike McDaniel still be in charge? The roster — already without injured receiver Tyreek Hill — could undergo big changes at the Nov. 4 trade deadline.

Does that sound like a team motivated to play hard in the December cold at Metlife?

Dec. 21 at Saints (1-4), +1.5 points

As the Giants just learned, don’t underestimate the Saints, who have three losses that were tight in the fourth quarter. The noisy Superdome (in the home finale) is an advantage, too.

Odds are rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will have replaced Spencer Rattler (1-10 career record) by then and could be playing to convince management that the Saints don’t need to draft a quarterback high in the first round.

Dec. 28 vs. Patriots (3-2), +1.5 points

Are the Patriots about to hit a groove after upsetting the Bills? Or was that a one-off?

Mike Vrabel seemed to be the first choice for Jets head coach in the offseason, but he used them to lure in the Patriots.

The struggles by the Patriots to run the ball could miss out on capitalizing on a Jets weakness.