However, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of two NFL clubs, along with the New Orleans Saints, to win their lone Super Bowl trip, and one of four teams (together with the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) to never win an AFC Championship.
The Jets are also one of three NFL teams that have never lost a playoff game (along with the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts).
The most recent Super Bowl victory by the New York Giants was in 2014. The last time the Jets played in the Super Bowl was 1976 when they were defeated by the Washington Redskins 24-7.
In 2016, former Jet QB Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 13-3 record and reached the NFC Championship Game before losing to Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in overtime. Fitzpatrick threw for 3,499 yards and 26 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He also ran for six scores.
During Rex Ryan's tenure as head coach of the Jets from 2009 to 2017, he had five consecutive seasons ending with 8 or more wins, but never made it past the first round of the playoffs. In addition, under Ryan the Jets never once appeared in the Super Bowl; they were eliminated from postseason contention on December 30, 2010 after a 23-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The new coach led the club to its most successful season since the merger in 1998, finishing 12-4 and reaching the AFC Championship Game, where they were defeated by the Denver Broncos. The 2000s saw the team make five playoff appearances, the most of any decade. They won at least ten games four times, including a franchise record 15 victories in 2009. Overall, New York has appeared in eight postseasons, with their longest current drought being those aforementioned 2010s during which time they have made the playoffs only once.
This article will focus on the more successful seasons since the merger in 1998. The 1960s and 1970s were also very good years for the franchise, but they will not be discussed here.
Let's take a look at these seasons one by one:
1998 - 12-4 - First-round bye - Lost 37-21 at Pittsburgh Steelers
This is the only season where the Jets have finished with a winning record. They came close to making the playoffs again in 1999 but fell short at the last minute by one game. Still, 12 wins is considered a success back then because it wasn't that common for teams to beat themselves by losing several games during the regular season. In fact, only two other teams have done so since then (2010 Jaguars and 2011 Cardinals).
After their early seasons, the Jaguars have been less successful, with only three playoff appearances and one division title since 2000. Jacksonville is one of four NFL teams, along with Detroit, Houston, and Cleveland, that have never competed in the Super Bowl. The others are the 49ers, Raiders, and Bengals.
The Jaguars played in their first ever postseason game in 1969 against Pittsburgh. They lost that game 17-14 in overtime. Jacksonville has not gone past the first round of the playoffs since then and has not made it further than that since 1990.
Its all-time record is 36-50-1.
The franchise was originally known as the Baltimore Colts until they moved to Indianapolis in 1953. The name Jacksonville was adopted before the beginning of the 1957 season.
The original Jacksonville Indians were a minor league baseball team that played from 1936 to 1955. In 1959, they became the Jacksonville Jets and remained so for five more seasons before becoming the current Jacksonville Jaguars in 1964.
There is some speculation that if the Colts win the Super Bowl this year, then the Jaguars could be awarded them as compensation because both cities have no NFL team. However, this would require approval by the other two existing franchises, who so far have shown no interest in sharing the city with another team.
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