New York Jets - 10 Worst Seasons
I have repeatedly been asked if this was the “worst it has ever been for the Jets and their fans.” They sucked last year. They have no quarterback. They have a coach who most people think will be fired after 2017. Tom Brady is going to play until he is 55. This has to be the worst season ever, right?
Not necessarily. Here is a ranking of the worst Jets seasons ever (Note, I am 29 so I will only be doing seasons Post Parcells arrival AKA 1997 and beyond, apologies to the older and equally miserable Jets fans).
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10. The Testaverde Season (2000, 9-7) The Jets started 4-0, eventually got to 9-5 but missed the playoffs because Vinny Testaverde ruined Christmas Eve by throwing an interception that was returned 98 yards for a TD against Baltimore, en route to a loss and a missed wild card spot. Al Groh decided to leave after one year of coaching the team.
9. The Blowout Season (2013, 8-8) This team was way worse than their record indicated, as they lucked into a few wins and were repeatedly blown out most weeks. During this season they had losses by 25 to the Titans, 40 to the Bengals (!), 23 to the Bills, 20 to the Dolphins and 16 to the Ravens. It was a 4-12 team masquerading as a team “a few players away” from the playoffs.
8. The Idzik Season (2014, 4-12) The encore to 2013. Rex mailed it in. GM John Idzik bombed his midseason press conference after an ugly offseason. Everybody hated each other. There were planes, billboards and ultimately everyone got fired (and here we are 2 years later in the exact same spot!).
7. The Mirer Season (1999, 8-8) The Jets were pre-season Super Bowl favorites. What could go wrong? Vinny Testaverde’s ACL popped in week 1 leading to Rick Mirer taking over at quarterback, who stunk it up and gave way to Ray Lucas halfway through the year and far too late. Lucas rallied the team to 8-8 but couldn’t overcome the early season hole Mirer put them in.
6. The Hurt Pennington Season (2003, 6-10) The first of many Chad Pennington injuries occurred in the pre-season this year, as the Jets were a popular pick to repeat as AFC East Champs (Yes, the Jets actually won the AFC East in 2002). They got off to a 0-4 start with Testaverde and never recovered.
5. The Dumb Rex Season (2011, 8-8) Somebody forget to tell Rex Ryan the Jets didn’t win the Super Bowl in 2010, they actually choked and lost a winnable game in Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship. Regardless, Rex wrote a book, said many dumb things, specifically about the Giants…then got his ass kicked by them on Christmas Eve as part of a meltdown from 8-5 to missing the playoffs. This team was way too talented to not make the postseason and had to watch the Giants take out the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
4. The Clemens Season (2007, 4-12) Another Pennington injury, this time in week 1 as the Jets followed up a playoff season by being a miserable 4-12 mostly behind the mediocre Kellen Clemens. This team started out 1-9 before winning enough games down the stretch to mess up their draft pick and eventually take Vernon Gholston 6th overall.
3. The Fitzpatrick Season (2016, 5-11) This past year! Who could have seen Ryan Fitzpatrick not living up to a big contract? He was the worst quarterback in the NFL. Darrelle Revis tarnished his Jets legacy by giving no effort. Brandon Marshall and Sheldon Richardson got into a locker room fight. Eric Decker got hurt. Nick Mangold got hurt. Muhammad Wilkerson did just about nothing after his big payday. Good times all around.
2. The Bollinger Season (2005, 4-12) A lifeless, awful team that was done in by another Pennington injury. This team played him, Jay Fielder, Vinny Testaverde and Brooks Bollinger at quarterback. They hosted New England for Sunday Night Football late in the year and I’ll never forget a drunk Pats fan screaming at a group of Jets fan “YOU ARE STARTING BROOKS BOLLINGER! BOLLINGER!” over and over again.
1. The Tebow Season (2012, 6-10) There have been seasons with worse records but nothing was worse than this clown show, circus of a football season. Do you know in the span of one week, the Jets gave Mark Sanchez a huge contract extension and traded multiple picks for Tim Tebow? This actually happened. Here is a list of some Jets players from that season: Mardy Gilyard, Jason Hill, Lex Hilliard, Greg McElroy and Matthew Mulligan.