New York Jets

Around since 1959, the New York Jets are a member of the National Football League since the league started in 1970. Before their arrival into the National Football League, they were members of the American Football League.

Located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium is the home of the New York Jets. Despite the drama around it for years, MetLife Stadium is also the home of the New York Giants, also out of the National Football League. This is one of just two stadiums in the NFL that shares it’s team. The Rams and Chargers also share SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

MetLife Stadium broke ground in 2007, and was then opened in 2010. The $1.6B project included an open-air multi-purpose stadium just a few miles west of New York City. This replaced Giants Stadium.

Super Bowl XLVIII was held at MetLife Stadium, and would be the first Super Bowl held in the New York City area. On February 2nd, 2014, the game actually happened, and it was the third coldest Super Bowl of all time. The weather must have affected Denver, and not Seattle, as the Seahawks smashed the Broncos 43-8.

Many other big events have gone on at MetLife Stadium. Wrestlemania has twice been there, along with Major League Soccer, international soccer, NHL Stadium Series, College Football, and a huge Lacross Tournament.

The stadium holds 33,346 in the lower bowl. The middle bowl sees more than 21,000, and the upper bowl houses nearly 28,000.

Before playing at MetLife, the Jets started at Polo Grounds from 1960-1963. In 1964, the team moved to Shea Stadium, all the way until the 1983 season. Giants Stadium then was their home until MetLife opened up.

The franchise was founded in 1959 and first started as the Titans of New York. In 1963, the team was then bought for $1, and the team was renamed the Jets due to playing nearly to LaGuardia Airport, and it rhymed with the Jets, who would also play at Shea Stadium. At that point, the name was supposed to remind people of the approach of the team. Sonny Werblin, a graduate of Rutgers, was the originator of the name Jets for the franchise.

We have spent much time talking about the Jets, and their lack of postseason success. But, in the end, the Jets do have 12 postseason wins.

Curtis Martin is a name many in the football world know. His 2,560 rushing attempts put him over 10,000 yards and 58 touchdowns in his career.

Joe Namath became the first-ever quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season. Keep in mind, during this season; they played 14 regular season games. The signal-caller finished his career with more than 25,000 passing yards.

Mark Gastineau held the single-season NFL record for sacks, and is 1st in franchise history with 74 in his career, including 8.5 during the postseason. He picked up 4 in a game against Indianapolis and also against Baltimore.

The New York Jets do not have a modern-day Super Bowl title. The only championship for the Jets came in the 1968 season, as part of the American Football League. That year, the Jets beat the Oakland Raiders at Shea Stadium in Queens to win the AFL, and then took down the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, which was known as one of the biggest upsets in history.

This game will always be known as the Joe Namath game, as he took offense to a heckling Colts fan, and guaranteed the Jets would win. That, they did, as they held the Colts to just 7 points at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Since the merger, the Jets are one of the teams that have yet to reach the Super Bowl. The team made the playoffs 12 times since the merger, but as of the start of the 2023 season, have not reached since 2010.

The top list for the Jets quarterback starts and stops with Joe Namath. During his span, the Jets only just shy of 50% of their games, but he is the only to lead them to a Super Bowl. The winningest starting quarterback has been Vinny Testaverde. From 1998-2003 and then again in 2005, he started 65 games and won 35 of them.

Chad Pennington is another name that had some success, winning 32 games in 61 starts. Mark Sanchez was also solid, with 33 wins and 29 losses.

As far as postseason success, Namath went 2-1, as did Richard Todd. Pat Ryan and Vinny Testaverde both won just one game in the postseason. Chad Pennington finished his career 2-3, while Mark Sanchez actually has 4 wins and 2 losses, but no trip to the Super Bowl.

Namath leads the franchise in touchdowns with 170, but also in interceptions, with 215. Pennington was the most accurate, completing nearly 66% of his passes, and 82 touchdowns.

Despite their lack of success in the National Football, the franchise has a large share of guys in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The first name for the Jets into the Hall of Fame was quarterback Joe Namath. He was named back in 1985, after playing from 1965-1976 with the team. Following him was Don Maynard, one of the top receivers for Namath, during his time. Maynard was inducted in 1987.

Brett Favre is the only other quarterback in the Hall of Fame as pat of the Jets. Favre played just one season, back in 2008. Aaron Rodgers will likely be a very similar case after his long career, he joined the Jets in 2023.

Names that are associated with the Jets, and really the Jets only in the Hall of Fame include running back Curtis Martin, center Kevin Mawae, offensive tackle Winston Hill, defensive end Joe Klecko and most recently cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Head Coach of the Super Bowl-winning team Weeb Ewbank was inducted during the 1978 season. Four other Coaches or contributors form the Jets are in the Hall of Fame, including Sammy Baugh, Bulldog Turner, Bill Parcells and Ron Wolf. Parcells was the head coach and General Manager from 1997 2000 and inducted in 2013.

The New York Jets won their first game in 1960, and held the Buffalo Bills to just 3 points in that game. The Jets signed their first played in 1960, and that was Don Maynard. The first winning season for the Jets came in 1967, as they went 8-5-1.

The Jets do all their preseason training at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New York. Popular head coach Pete Carroll spent a season as the head coach of the New York Jets, as did Bill Belichick. The problem with Belichick is he resigned a day into his tenure, and took the job with the New England Patriots.