History of the New York Jets
By winning the title, New York earned the right to play in Super Bowl III against the champions of the National Football League (NFL), the Baltimore Colts.
Hunt met with him, and Shea suggested Harry Wismer, a former sportscaster who had been a minority shareholder in both the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions, as a potential New York franchise owner for the new football league.
Viewers in New York were spared the harrowing ending; in a prelude to the Heidi Game eight years later, the local ABC station had switched to a Walt Disney Davey Crockett special at 6:30 p.m.
Wismer had hoped the Titans could play in the new stadium, to be built at Flushing Meadows in Queens, beginning with the 1961 season, but funding difficulties and legal problems delayed construction.
[45][46] On September 12, 1964, New York played its home opener at Shea Stadium, defeating Denver 30–6 before a crowd of 52,663, which broke the AFL regular season attendance record by almost 20,000.
[51] Ewbank maintained through training camp that second-year Mike Taliaferro was the number-one quarterback and disappointed a sellout crowd at Houston's Rice Stadium by keeping Namath on the bench at the Jets' season opener.
The Jets led the division until running back Emerson Boozer was injured against the Chiefs on November 6, which meant opposing teams were able to concentrate on the passing threat from Namath.
[67] Jim Turner added two field goals to make the score 13–0, and Colts coach Don Shula inserted Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas in Morrall's place.
[68] Houston Post columnist Jack Gallagher traced the Jets' progress from their early days to the Super Bowl: I remember when the 1962 Titans drew 36,161—not the average attendance, mind you, but for the season ...
I remember when a squirt of a Texan named Hayseed Stephens, instead of Broadway Joe Namath quarterbacked New York's AFL entry ... As the thoughts keep rolling back I find it difficult to reconcile the Jets with the champions of pro football.
"[73] In 1967, the Giants traded for star Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the vain hopes he would lead them to renewed success and rival Namath in the public eye.
[75] The Jets recovered from a slow start to win their second consecutive Eastern Division championship, but fell to Kansas City in the divisional round of the playoffs, 13–6.
The first NFL regular-season overtime victory, over the Giants at the Yale Bowl, and the usual large number of home games towards the end of the season helped New York in its comeback, and a Namath prediction again came true.
Running back John Riggins, who became the first 1,000-yard rusher in franchise history during the season and made the Pro Bowl, departed for the Washington Redskins as he felt the Jets' Namath-led offense passed the ball too often.
Although Namath's throwing abilities were unimpaired, his knees were so bad as to render him almost immobile; Paul Zimmerman of the New York Post dubbed him the "million dollar statue".
[85] Rookies on the team, selected in the 1977 NFL draft, included seven players who started for them in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as tackle Marvin Powell, wide receiver Wesley Walker, and defensive lineman Joe Klecko.
When quarterback Richard Todd was injured, his backup Matt Robinson proved to be a deep-throwing threat who led New York to eight wins in the first fourteen of the newly expanded sixteen-game season, and into playoff contention.
[94][95] In the strike-shortened 1982 season,[96] the Jets finished 6–3 and upset the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs, as running back Freeman McNeil became the second player to rush for 200 yards in a postseason game.
[97] New York then defeated the top seeded Los Angeles Raiders 17–14, based on the strong performances of McNeil and Wesley Walker in a game that saw numerous turnovers on both sides.
At the end of his best season, Todd threw five interceptions, the last being a screen pass deflected and returned by linebacker A. J. Duhe for a costly 4th-quarter touchdown as New York fell to Miami 14–0.
[108] New York began its season with veteran Pat Ryan as starting quarterback; O'Brien was spending most weekdays waiting to testify about an altercation at the Studio 54 nightclub, at which Jets players had been present and, by some accounts, involved.
[123] Three days after New York's final game of the season, a 37–0 loss to the Bills at Giants Stadium, Steinberg fired Walton and began to search for the team's 10th coach.
[131][132] Two days later, defensive end Dennis Byrd collided with teammate Scott Mersereau when Chiefs quarterback Dave Krieg stepped forward in the pocket as the two players were about to sandwich him.
[138] O'Brien's career with the Jets ended with an offseason trade to the Green Bay Packers, and running back Freeman McNeil retired after twelve seasons.
[145] The Jets defeated the Seattle Seahawks on the Sunday following Thanksgiving after an inspirational speech by Hess, but again had trouble in December, losing all four games in the month to finish 3–13.
[163][164] In April 2000, New York traded wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, a major offensive threat on the 1998 team, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two 1st-round draft picks.
They selected quarterback Chad Pennington as well as defensive linemen John Abraham and Shaun Ellis, and tight end Anthony Becht, all of whom would be key players on the Jets playoff teams of the 2000s.
Four signed with the Washington Redskins, including kicker Hall, wide receiver Laveranues Coles, kick returner Chad Morton, and offensive lineman Randy Thomas.
After a slow start, the Jets got hot late in the season and had their playoff fate in their own hands going into a final week game at the Bills, coached by Ryan.
Zach Wilson replaced him, leading the Jets to a 22–16 overtime victory, a win overshadowed by the injury to Rodgers,[255] which proved to be a torn Achilles tendon, ending his season.
