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1998 New York Jets season
Owner Leon Hess
Head coach Bill Parcells
Home field Giants Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Jaguars) 34–24
Lost AFC Championship
(at Broncos) 10–23
Pro BowlersQB Vinny Testaverde
RB Curtis Martin
WR Keyshawn Johnson
LB Mo Lewis
CB Aaron Glenn
Uniform

The 1998 New York Jets season was the 39th season for the team and the 29th in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on its previous season by three games, finishing 12–4 in their second season under head coach Bill Parcells and their first playoff appearance since 1991, winning their first division title since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970; the 12–4 record was also the best in Jets history. This success came just two years after the Jets' 1–15 record in 1996.

The Jets earned a first-round bye, given to the two division winners with the best records, for the first time. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34–24, in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Their attempt to reach their first Super Bowl in thirty years was halted by losing in Denver when the 14–2 Broncos scored 23 unanswered points in the second half.

The 1998 Jets are one of only two teams in NFL history [note 1] to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs. [1]

Vinny Testaverde threw for 3,256 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions in 421 pass attempts (1.7%).

The title game was the Jets' last title game appearance until 2009, although they returned to the playoffs in 2001, and qualified for the postseason four more times that decade.

Offseason

In the offseason, the Jets signed New England Patriots running back Curtis Martin to an offer sheet. The Patriots had offered Martin, their star running back, a tender deal that would net them a first-round pick and a third-round pick if a team signed him. Jets coach and general manager Bill Parcells, who had left New England two years prior and still harbored some bad blood with the team, offered Martin a very large contract that the Patriots were unwilling to match, further fueling the rivalry between the teams.

In addition, the Jets parted ways with veteran quarterback Neil O'Donnell after two seasons and signed another veteran, Vinny Testaverde, to serve as backup to Glenn Foley. Testaverde eventually succeeded Foley as the starter and led the Jets to their division title. On defense, New York added former Miami Dolphins linebacker Bryan Cox.

The offseason also saw the first major overhaul of the Jets' uniforms and logos since 1978. The team changed its primary color from kelly green to hunter green, eliminated black which had been added in 1990 as a trim color, and abandoned the solid green helmets with the modern "JETS" wordmark in favor of white helmets with two green parallel stripes down the center, as worn from 1965 to 1977, but with a green facemask. The new primary/helmet logo resembles the 1965-77 version but is oval rather than football-shaped and has a somewhat "cleaner" appearance, with starker lines defining the word "JETS" in thick sans-serif italics in front of the "NY" in serif outline lettering, and the miniature football at bottom center. This logo was also added to the jersey front, by the player's left shoulder. The jerseys and pants also resemble the 1963-77 uniforms, with alternating shoulder stripes, opposite-colored sleeves and TV numerals, and two green parallel stripes from hip to knee on each side.

NFL draft

1998 New York Jets draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 56 Dorian Boose  DE Washington State from Pittsburgh
3 67 Scott Frost  DB Nebraska from St. Louis
3 87 Kevin Williams  FS Oklahoma State from Pittsburgh
4 111 Jason Fabini  OT Cincinnati
5 134 Casey Dailey  LB Northwestern from Philadelphia
5 141 Doug Karczewski  G Virginia
5 146 Blake Spence  TE Oregon from Tampa Bay
5 149 Eric Bateman  G BYU from Pittsburgh
6 163 Eric Ogbogu  DE Maryland from Philadelphia
6 174 Chris Brazzell  WR Angelo State
6 183 Dustin Johnson  RB BYU from Denver
7 195 Lawrence Hart  TE Southern from St. Louis
      Made roster  

Roster

New York Jets 1998 final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

53 active, 6 inactive, 5 practice squad


rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 6 at San Francisco 49ers L 30–36 (OT) 0–1 3Com Park Recap
2 September 13 Baltimore Ravens L 10–24 0–2 Giants Stadium Recap
3 September 20 Indianapolis Colts W 44–6 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap
4 Bye
5 October 4 Miami Dolphins W 20–9 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap
6 October 11 at St. Louis Rams L 10–30 2–3 Trans World Dome Recap
7 October 19 at New England Patriots W 24–14 3–3 Foxboro Stadium Recap
8 October 25 Atlanta Falcons W 28–3 4–3 Giants Stadium Recap
9 November 1 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–17 5–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
10 November 8 Buffalo Bills W 34–12 6–3 Giants Stadium Recap
11 November 15 at Indianapolis Colts L 23–24 6–4 RCA Dome Recap
12 November 22 at Tennessee Oilers W 24–3 7–4 Vanderbilt Stadium Recap
13 November 29 Carolina Panthers W 48–21 8–4 Giants Stadium Recap
14 December 6 Seattle Seahawks W 32–31 9–4 Giants Stadium Recap
15 December 13 at Miami Dolphins W 21–16 10–4 Pro Player Stadium Recap
16 December 19 at Buffalo Bills W 17–10 11–4 Rich Stadium Recap
17 December 27 New England Patriots W 31–10 12–4 Giants Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) New York Jets 12 4 0 .750 416 266 W6
(4) Miami Dolphins 10 6 0 .625 321 265 L1
(5) Buffalo Bills 10 6 0 .625 400 333 W1
(6) New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 337 329 L1
Indianapolis Colts 3 13 0 .188 310 444 L2

Season summary

Week 1 at 49ers

Week One: New York Jets (0–0) at San Francisco 49ers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Jets 3 14 76030
49ers 7 7 97636

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

Week 11 at Colts

Week Eleven: New York Jets (6–3) at Indianapolis Colts (1–8)
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 3 20 0023
Colts 10 0 7724

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Date: November 15, 1998
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 55,520
  • TV: CBS
  • Box Score, Box Score
Team Category Player Statistics
Jets Passing Vinny Testaverde 12/28, 249 Yds, TD, INT
Rushing Curtis Martin 28 Rush, 134 Yds
Receiving Wayne Chrebet 4 Rec, 112 Yds, TD
Colts Passing Peyton Manning 26/44, 276 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Marshall Faulk 20 Rush, 69 Yds
Receiving Marvin Harrison 9 Rec, 128 Yds, TD

Playoffs

Playoff Game Summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC Divisional Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 7 71024
Jets 7 10 14334

at The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: January 10, 1999
  • Game time: 12:40 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 28 °F (−2.2 °C) relative humidity 53%, wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn), wind chill 16 °F (−8.9 °C)
  • TV announcers ( CBS): Verne Lundquist, Randy Cross, and Michele Tafoya
Game information

AFC Championship Game vs. Denver Broncos

AFC Championship Game: New York Jets at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 7010
Broncos 0 0 20323

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Notes

  1. ^ The 1997 Packers are the other

References

External links