Despite making the playoffs in just 13 of their 50 seasons, the Jets have played some of the NFL’s more significant postseason games, from Joe Namath’s Super Bowl guarantee to the Mud Bowl to Mark Gastineau’s roughing the passer penalty. The Post takes a look, chronologically, at the Jets’ Top 10 tournament games:
1968 AFL Championship
Jets 27, Raiders 23
In their only AFL Championship game appearance, the Jets earned a trip to Super Bowl III with their victory over the Raiders at Shea Stadium. Down 23-20 halfway through the fourth quarter, Joe Namath threw a touchdown pass to Don Maynard to give the Jets the lead. The Raiders’ final shot at a comeback failed when linebacker Ralph Baker pounced on Daryle Lamonica’s mishandled lateral to Charlie Smith deep in Jets territory with less than two minutes to go.
Super Bowl III
Jets 16, Colts 7
The most famous Jets game turned out to be one of the most important games in NFL history. After the NFL’s Green Bay Packers easily had won each of the first two Super Bowls, Joe Namath guaranteed his Jets, 18-point underdogs in the game, would defeat the 13-1 Baltimore Colts. The Jets did just that. Namath went 17-for-28 for 206 yards and was named the game’s MVP, and the Jets jumped out to a 16-0 lead before the Colts scored late in the fourth. The Jets defense forced five turnovers, and Matt Snell, to this day, is the only Jet to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
1982 AFC Divisional
Jets 17, Raiders 14
After crushing the Bengals 44-17 in the first round, the Jets took their road show to Los Angeles and jumped out to a 10-0 lead at halftime before the Raiders scored twice in the third quarter on a touchdown run by Marcus Allen and a touchdown pass from Jim Plunkett to Malcolm Barnwell. But the Jets regained the lead in the fourth quarter on a Scott Dierking 1-yard-run with 3:45 remaining. Wesley Walker caught seven passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, Freeman McNeil ran for 105 yards, and Lance Mehl had two fourth-quarter interceptions.
1982 AFC Championship
Dolphins 14, Jets 0
Known as “The Mud Bowl,” the Jets were upset by the Dolphins’ decision not to cover the field at the Orange Bowl. After the teams slogged through a scoreless first half, Miami linebacker A.J. Duhe intercepted a Richard Todd pass in the third quarter, leading to a Woody Bennett touchdown from 7 yards out. Duhe then sealed Miami’s victory when he intercepted a screen pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Todd threw five picks in the game.
1986 AFC Divisional
Browns 23, Jets 20 (2 OT)
Freeman McNeil’s 25-yard touchdown with 4:14 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Jets what seemed like an insurmountable 20-10 lead over the Browns. But Cleveland scored a touchdown, thanks largely to a roughing-the-passer penalty on Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau on third-and-24. After a Jets three-and-out, the Browns tied it on Mark Moseley’s field goal with :07 to go. After Moseley missed a 23-yard field goal in the first overtime, he kicked the game-winning 27-yarder with 12:58 remaining in the second OT.
1998 AFC Divisional
Jets 34, Jaguars 24
After getting a bye as the AFC’s No. 2 seed, the Jets dominated, holding the ball for 39:16. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — by Keyshawn Johnson. Two 1-yard TD runs by Curtis Martin then made it 31-14. The Jaguars didn’t go down without a fight, closing to 31-24 on a Jimmy Smith TD reception from Mark Brunell and a Mike Hollis field goal. But after intercepting a Vinny Testaverde pass in the end zone, Donovin Darius attempted to bring the ball out and was tackled at the 1. Jacksonville failed to get a first down, turning the ball over on downs, and a John Hall field goal iced the game.
1998 AFC Championship
Broncos 23, Jets 10
Curtis Martin’s 1-yard TD run helped the Jets take a 10-0 lead into halftime, putting them as close as they had been to the Super Bowl in 30 years. But the defending champion Broncos would score 23 unanswered points, led by league MVP Terrell Davis’ 167 yards and a touchdown. The Jets did most of the damage to themselves, with an unbelievable six turnovers.
2003 AFC Wild-Card
Jets 41, Colts 0
The Jets scored at least a touchdown in every quarter in Chad Pennington’s playoff debut, as they destroyed Peyton Manning and the Colts. Pennington finished the game 19-for-25 for 222 yards and three touchdowns, while Manning was 14-for-31 for 137 yards and two interceptions. The tone was set right from the beginning of the game when Richie Anderson took a screen pass 56 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
2004 AFC Wild-Card
Jets 20, Chargers 17 (OT)
The Jets looked as if the Jets had the game won 17-10 when Drew Brees’ pass on fourth down from the 2 fell incomplete. Nevertheless, Eric Barton was flagged for roughing the passer, and the Chargers scored on the next play to tie the game and send it to overtime. In OT, Nate Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal. On the ensuing possession, Doug Brien’s 28-yard field goal won it.
2004 AFC Divisional
Steelers 20, Jets 17 (OT)
After Ben Roethlisberger’s 4-yard pass to Hines Ward tied the game at 17, the Jets missed two chances to win. Doug Brien missed a 47-yard field goal late, but the Jets got another chance when David Barrett intercepted Roethlisberger and returned it to Pittsburgh’s 36 only to have Brien miss a 43-yarder at the gun. The Jets won the OT coin toss, punted, then lost on Jeff Reed’s 33-yard field goal.