New York Jets Nearing Historic NFL Low with Poor On-Field Performance
The 2024 season was supposed to be different for the New York Jets.
They felt enough was done to upgrade the roster around Aaron Rodgers that they could be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Major additions were made to the offensive line, which struggled mightly in 2023 because of injuries and ineffective play.
Defensively, their unit was regarded as one of the best in the league. Some went as far as to call them championship caliber.
In typical Jets fashion, nothing went according to plan and the team has fallen woefully short of expectations.
Head coach Robert Saleh was fired after the team’s Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. General manager Joe Douglas met the same fate after a Week 11 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
An entirely new regime will be taking over this offseason and they will have their hands full.
There isn’t much to get excited about with the current roster, as there could be a ton of turnover. Going all-in around Rodgers has left them with a cloudy future, as he may not even be back as the starting quarterback in 2025.
This looks like another multi-year rebuilding effort, especially since some of their core young players, such as running back Breece Hall, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, are all eligible for extensions.
It will be a massive undertaking for whoever is hired as the new general manager and head coach when it comes to the roster.
They will also be looking to overcome what has been over a decade's worth of ineptitude.
The last time New York made the playoffs was in the 2010 season when they lost in the AFC Conference Championship Game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That 14-year drought is the longest in current major North American sports (NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB).
As if that isn’t bad enough, the franchise is also creeping up on some ugly NFL history, as shared by uStadium on X, formerly Twitter.
With their loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13, the Jets have clinched their ninth consecutive losing campaign. That is the longest streak in the league and tied for the sixth-longest stretch of losing seasons the league has ever seen.
The record is held by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had 14 straight losing seasons from 1983-96.
Unfortunately for the fan base, there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel getting near. Given the current circumstances surrounding the franchise, it is hard to envision top head coach and general manager candidates wanting to even take the job.