1998 New York Jets season

1998 New York Jets season
Head coach Bill Parcells
Owner Leon Hess
Home field Giants Stadium
Results
Record 12–4
Division place 1st AFC East
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Jaguars) 34–24
Lost Conference Championship (Broncos) 23–10
Uniform

The 1998 New York Jets season was the 39th season for the team and the 29th in the National Football League. The team improved on its previous season by three games, finishing 12–4 in their second season under head coach Bill Parcells, winning their first division title since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970; the 12–4 record was also the best in Jets history. This success came just two years after the Jets' 1–15 record in 1996.

The Jets earned a first-round bye, given to the two division winners with the best records, for the first time. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Their attempt to reach their first Super Bowl in thirty years fell short when they lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game 23–10.

The 1998 Jets are one of only two teams in NFL history[1] to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.[2]

Offseason

In the offseason, the Jets signed New England Patriots running back Curtis Martin to an offer sheet. The Patriots had offered Martin, their star running back, a tender deal that would net them a first-round pick and a third-round pick if a team signed him. Jets coach and general manager Bill Parcells, who had left New England two years prior and still harbored some bad blood with the team, offered Martin a very large contract that the Patriots were unwilling to match, further fueling the rivalry between the teams.

In addition, the Jets parted ways with veteran quarterback Neil O'Donnell after two seasons and signed another veteran, Vinny Testaverde, to serve as backup to Glenn Foley. Testaverde eventually succeeded Foley as the starter and led the Jets to their division title. On defense, New York added former Miami Dolphins linebacker Bryan Cox.

The offseason also saw the first major overhaul of the Jets' uniforms and logos since 1978. The team changed its primary color from kelly green to hunter green, eliminated black which had been added in 1990 as a trim color, and abandoned the solid green helmets with the modern "JETS" wordmark in favor of white helmets with two green parallel stripes down the center, as worn from 1965-77, but with a green facemask. The new primary/helmet logo resembles the 1965-77 version but is oval rather than football-shaped and has a somewhat "cleaner" appearance, with starker lines defining the word "JETS" in thick sans-serif italics in front of the "NY" in serif outline lettering, and the miniature football at bottom center. This logo was also added to the jersey front, by the player's left shoulder. The jerseys and pants also resemble the 1963-77 uniforms, with alternating shoulder stripes, opposite-colored sleeves and TV numerals, and two green parallel stripes from hip to knee on each side.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site Notes Attendance
1 September 6, 1998 at San Francisco 49ers L 36–30 (OT) 3Com Park Game decided in overtime on Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown run
64,419
2 September 13, 1998 Baltimore Ravens L 24–10 Giants Stadium Glenn Foley threw three interceptions
70,063
3 September 20, 1998 Indianapolis Colts W 44–6 Giants Stadium Vinny Testaverde replaced Foley and threw four touchdowns
79,469
4 Bye
5 October 4, 1998 Miami Dolphins W 20–9 Giants Stadium Jets intercepted Dan Marino twice
75,257
6 October 11, 1998 at St. Louis Rams L 30–10 Trans World Dome Foley started but benched for Testaverde
65,437
7 October 19, 1998 at New England Patriots W 24–14 Foxboro Stadium Former Patriot Curtis Martin rushed for 107 yards
60,062
8 October 25, 1998 Atlanta Falcons W 28–3 Giants Stadium Falcons played backup quarterbacks Tony Graziani and Steve DeBerg; Jets intercepted passes from both
71,573
9 November 1, 1998 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–17 Arrowhead Stadium Jets erased 17–10 gap in fourth quarter
65,104
10 November 8, 1998 Buffalo Bills W 34–12 Giants Stadium Bills quarterback Doug Flutie intercepted twice
75,403
11 November 15, 1998 at Indianapolis Colts L 24–23 RCA Dome Last loss of the regular season
55,520
12 November 22, 1998 at Tennessee Oilers W 24–3 Vanderbilt Stadium Steve McNair limited to 163 yards total offense
37,084
13 November 29, 1998 Carolina Panthers W 48–21 Giants Stadium Keyshawn Johnson ran in a 35-yard score
71,501
14 December 6, 1998 Seattle Seahawks W 32–31 Giants Stadium Phil Luckett criticized for a late Testaverde rushing touchdown where replays showed him down short of the goal. Announcers on CBS were Kevin Harlan and Sam Wyche.
72,200
15 December 13, 1998 at Miami Dolphins W 21–16 Pro Player Stadium Dan Marino sacked five times
74,369
16 December 19, 1998 at Buffalo Bills W 17–10 Rich Stadium Jets complete first season sweep of Bills since 1994
79,056
17 December 27, 1998 New England Patriots W 31–10 Giants Stadium Jets win AFC East for first time
74,302

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) New York Jets 1240.750416266W6
(4) Miami Dolphins 1060.625321265L1
(5) Buffalo Bills 1060.625400333W1
(6) New England Patriots 970.563337329L1
Indianapolis Colts 3130.188310444L2

References

  1. ↑ 1997 Packers
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, team won game, in games against playoff teams only, only in games against teams with winning record for season, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.