It began with the team trying to improve upon its 10–6 record from 1986 under head coach Joe Walton.
The season was marred by a players' strike that resulted in the cancellation of all week-3 games, as well as Weeks 4 through 6 being played mostly with replacement players.
The Jets finished the season with a record of 6–9.
For the second time in his career, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions among quarterbacks.
[1] After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Offensive linemen Defensive linemen Linebackers Defensive backs Special teams Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]