However, the Jets recovered and finished 9–7, winning their second AFC East division title.

After a 24–21 week 8 loss to the Cleveland Browns at the Meadowlands dropped the Jets' season record to 2–5, head coach Herman Edwards gave his famous "You play to win the game" response to a question in his press conference the following Tuesday.

Edwards' vigorous defense of his team's refusal to quit, along with the midseason debut of quarterback Chad Pennington, helped spark the Jets' turnaround.

After posting a stunning rout of the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 41–0 at the Meadowlands in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, they lost for the second year in a row to the eventual AFC champion Oakland Raiders, 30–10 in the Divisional round.

As of the 2024 season, this is the Jets' most recent AFC East division title and is also the last time they have hosted a home playoff game.

Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve Under the NFL's newly established schedule rotation, during the 2002 regular season the Jets played against all of the teams from the AFC West, as well as the Cleveland Browns from the AFC North and the Jacksonville Jaguars from the AFC South, who finished in the same positions as the Jets in their respective divisions in 2001.