1998 New York Jets season
1998 season of NFL team New York Jets
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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.
| 1998 New York Jets season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Leon Hess |
| Head coach | Bill Parcells |
| Offensive coordinator | Charlie Weis |
| Defensive coordinator | Bill Belichick |
| Home stadium | Giants Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Division place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoffs | Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Jaguars) 34–24 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 10–23 |
| Pro Bowlers | QB Vinny Testaverde RB Curtis Martin WR Keyshawn Johnson LB Mo Lewis CB Aaron Glenn |
| Uniform | |
| |
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 first playoff win since 1986 and their first AFC Championship Game appearance in 16 years. 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%).
Curtis Martin rushed for a franchise record 1,287 yards, breaking the previous mark of 1,249 yards set by Adrian Murrell just two years prior.
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.
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| QB Vinny Testaverde (Ravens) | QB Neil O'Donnell (Bengals) |
| RB Curtis Martin (Patriots) | RB Adrian Murrell (Cardinals) |
| LB Bryan Cox (Dolphins) | WR Jeff Graham (Eagles) |
| C Kevin Mawae (Seahawks) | FB Lorenzo Neal (Buccaneers) |
| DE Anthony Pleasant (Falcons) | DE Hugh Douglas (Eagles) |
| C Roger Duffy (Steelers) | |
| G Lonnie Palelei (Giants) |
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 | QB/S | 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 | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Geno Bell | Defensive tackle | Arkansas |
| Shannon Brown | Defensive tackle | Alabama |
| Cedric Donaldson | Cornerback | Louisiana Tech |
| Nakia Jenkins | Wide receiver | Utah State |
| Keith Lowzowski | Fullback | Northwestern |
| John Munch | Linebacker | Illinois Wesleyan |
| Brian Musso | Wide receiver | Northwestern |
| Victor Tuatagaloa | Defensive tackle | Henderson State |
| David Viger | Defensive tackle | Navy |
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
at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California
- Date: September 6, 1998
- Game time: 4:15 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Sunny • 71 °F (21.7 °C) • Wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
- Game attendance: 64,419
- Referee: Bernie Kukar
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian
- FootballDB.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Week 8 vs Falcons
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
With Chris Chandler having injured his shoulder, the Falcons start 44-year-old Steve DeBerg, who had last played in the NFL in 1993 and became the oldest player to start an NFL game since Bobby Marshall in 1925.[3] Bill Belichick's Jets shut down the Falcons' powerful running game with a nine-man defensive line, and DeBerg and reserve left-hander Tony Graziani cannot cope with the Jets' pass rush.[4]
Week 11 at Colts
| 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 |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playoffs
Game summaries
AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (3) Jacksonville Jaguars
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| Jets | 7 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
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: at (1) Denver Broncos
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 23 |
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
- Date: January 17, 1999
- Game time: 2:05 p.m. MDT
- Game weather: 37 °F (2.8 °C), relative humidity 36%, wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian, and Bonnie Bernstein
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Notes
- The 1997 Packers are the other