The 1968 New York Jets season was the ninth season for the team in the American Football League (AFL), and the most successful season in franchise history. Trying to improve upon their 8–5–1 record of 1967, the Jets won the AFL Eastern Division with an 11–3 record. They defeated the defending champion Oakland Raiders, 27–23, in the AFL championship game, earning the right to play in Super Bowl III against the NFL champion Baltimore Colts. After fourth-year quarterback Joe Namath announced a "guarantee" of victory, the Jets defeated the heavily favored Colts, 16–7. The Jets did not appear in a semi-final playoff round again until 1983, and they have never returned to the Super Bowl; their ongoing drought of 57 complete seasons is the longest in NFL history. They and the New Orleans Saints are the only teams to have won their lone championship game.

In 2007, NFL Network aired America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, the 1968 New York Jets, with team commentary from Joe Namath, Gerry Philbin and Don Maynard, and was narrated by Alec Baldwin. The Jets ranked No. 24 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary. Of those 24, only three came before the AFL-NFL Merger. The Jets were the highest-ranked team that played in the AFL, and also the highest pre-merger team not coached by Vince Lombardi.

The last active member of the 1968 New York Jets was guard Randy Rasmussen, who retired after the 1981 NFL season.

Offseason On May 21, Sonny Werblin sold his shares in the Jets to his partners Donald C. Lillis, Leon Hess, Townsend Martin, and Philip H. Iselin. Lillis became the president on May 21, but died on July 23, and Isselin was appointed president on August 6. Leon Hess the founder of Hess gas station made the famous Hess truck after the New York Jets color schemeNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 283

Draft

Personnel Staff

Roster

Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at Houston Oilers L 14–28 0–1 Astrodome Recap 2 Boston Patriots W 25–6 1–1 City Stadium Recap 3 Atlanta Falcons W 27–12 2–1 Legion Field Recap 4 Cincinnati Bengals L 9–13 2–2 Recap 5 Detroit Lions W 9–6 3–2 Recap

Regular season Regular season schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1Bye 2 September 15 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–19 1–0 Municipal Stadium 48,871 Recap 3 September 22 Boston Patriots W 47–31 2–0 Legion Field, Birmingham, AL1968 schedule 29,192 Recap 4 September 29 at Buffalo Bills L 35–37 2–1 War Memorial Stadium 38,044 Recap 5 October 5 San Diego Chargers W 23–20 3–1 Shea Stadium 63,786 Recap 6 October 13 Denver BroncosL 13–21 3–2 Shea Stadium 63,052 Recap 7 October 20 at Houston Oilers W 20–14 4–2 Astrodome 51,710 Recap 8 October 27 Boston Patriots W 48–14 5–2 Shea Stadium 62,351 Recap 9 November 3 Buffalo Bills W 25–21 6–2 Shea Stadium 61,452 Recap 10 November 10 Houston OilersW 26–7 7–2 Shea Stadium 60,242 Recap 11 November 17 at Oakland Raiders L 32–43 7–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,318 Recap 12 November 24 at San Diego Chargers W 37–15 8–3 San Diego Stadium 51,175Recap 13 December 1 Miami Dolphins W 35–17 9–3 Shea Stadium 61,766Recap 14 December 8 Cincinnati Bengals W 27–14 10–3 Shea Stadium 61,111 Recap 15 December 15 at Miami DolphinsW 31–7 11–3 Orange Bowl 32,843 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Game summaries

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 3: at Boston Patriots

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

This game, won by the Buffalo Bills at the old War Memorial Stadium (known as the rock pile) in Buffalo was the only win for the Bills all season. A win over the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 6: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 7: at Houston Oilers

Week 8: vs. Boston Patriots

Week 9: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 10: vs. Houston Oilers

Week 11 at Oakland Raiders

The 1968 season also saw the Jets involved in one of the most notorious incidents in television history, an incident that would change the way television networks carried sporting events for decades to come. On November 17, 1968, just before 7:00 pm Eastern time, the Jets scored late to take a 32–29 lead over the Oakland Raiders with 1:05 left. NBC cut to a commercial, and then everywhere but the West Coast showed the movie Heidi, a show which NBC had promoted extensively for the sweeps period. Outraged fans bombarded NBC headquarters in New York with phone calls demanding the game be restored; so many phone calls were made that they eventually knocked out the NBC switchboard. Even though a decision was made to carry the game to conclusion, this decision could not be communicated, thus resulting in the movie starting on schedule.

Fans' ire was further fueled when they discovered that NBC's cutting away from the game denied them from seeing live a dramatic finish. On the Raiders' second play from scrimmage on the next drive, Daryle Lamonica threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Smith, giving the Raiders a 36–32 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Earl Christy of the Jets fumbled at the 10-yard line, which the Raiders' Preston Ridlehuber converted into another touchdown, ultimately giving the Raiders a 43–32 victory. Much of the country learned of this final outcome only via a bottom-of-screen crawl line shown during the movie. This incident, dubbed the Heidi Game, resulted in most television networks and sports leagues amending their television policies to ensure that games in progress would be broadcast to their conclusion, no matter what, even if it meant delaying or canceling the rest of the network's lineup, and even if the game's outcome seemed assured.

Week 12: at San Diego Chargers

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 14: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 15: at Miami Dolphins

Postseason On December 29, Weeb Ewbank became the first coach to win titles in the National Football League and in the American Football League. His former team, the Baltimore Colts won the 1968 NFL Championship on December 29 as well. The Colts defeated the Cleveland Browns by a score of 34–0.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 283

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap W 27–23 1–0 Recap W 16–7 2–0 Recap

AFL Championship

In the franchise's first-ever postseason game, the Jets defeated the defending AFL champion Oakland Raiders 27-23 at Shea Stadium to claim the AFL title and advance to Super Bowl III. Joe Namath threw three touchdown passes, including the game-winner to Don Maynard midway through the fourth quarter.

The 1968 AFL Championship Game is the only league or conference championship game the Jets have ever hosted, the only one they have won, and their only postseason win at Shea Stadium.

Super Bowl III

The Guarantee

In January 1969, the Jets would reach the pinnacle of their existence and provide the moment that would indicate the AFL's coming of age. Under Namath's guidance, the Jets rose to the top of the AFL, defeating the Oakland Raiders in a thrilling AFL championship game, 27–23. The win qualified them to represent their league in a game that was being referred to for the first time as the Super Bowl (and referred to retroactively as Super Bowl III). They were pitted against the champions of the NFL, the Baltimore Colts. At the time, the AFL was considered to be inferior to the NFL, and most considered the Jets to be considerable underdogs and treated them as such. That would change three nights before the game while Namath was being honored by the Miami Touchdown Club as its Player of the Year. Namath took exception to a heckling Colts fan and used that moment to lament the lack of respect his team had gotten to that point. He then said "The Jets will win Sunday. I guarantee it." His audacious remark proved correct, as the Jets created one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating the Colts 16–7. This victory showed that the AFL was capable of competing with the NFL.He guaranteed it – Pro Football Hall of Fame

Scoring summary

Point spread: Jets +18 Over/under: 40.0 (under) Time of game:

JetsGame statisticsColts21 First downs 1843–142 Rushes–yards 23–143206 Passing yards 18117–29–0 17–41–42–11 Sacked–yards 0–0195 Net passing yards 181337 Total yards 32434 Return yards 1394–38.8 3–44.31–1 Fumbles–lost 1–15–28 Penalties–yards 3–2336:10 Time of possession 23:50

Individual stats Passing: Namath – 17/28, 206 YDS; Parilli – 0/1, 0 YDS Rushing: Snell – 30 CAR, 121 YDS, 1 TD; Boozer – 10 CAR, 19 YDS; Mathis – 3 CAR, 2 YDS Receiving: Sauer – 8 REC, 133 YDS; Snell – 4 REC, 40 YDS; Mathis – 3 REC, 20 YDS; Lammons – 2 REC, 13 YDS Kickoff returns: Christy – 1 KR, 25 YDS Punt returns: Baird – 1 PR, 0 YDS Punting: Johnson – 4 PUNTS, 155 YDS Kicking: Turner – 1/1 PAT, 3/5 FG Interceptions: Beverly – 2 INT, 0 YDS; Hudson – 1 INT, 9 YDS; Sample – 1 INT, 0 YDS Jets Missed Field Goals: Turner 41, 42

Media RadioFlagship StationPlay-by-playColor CommentatorStudio Host

Pre season Local TVFlagship StationPlay-by-playColor Commentator

Stats

Passing Passing Player G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Joe Namath 14 14 11–3–0 187 380 49.2 3147 15 3.9 17 4.5 87 8.3 7.1 16.8 224.8 72.1 Babe Parilli 14 0 29 55 52.7 401 5 9.1 2 3.6 40 7.3 7.5 13.8 28.6 91.6 Matt Snell 14 14 1 1 100.0 26 0 0.0 0 0.0 26 26.0 26.0 26.0 1.9 118.7 NYJ Totals 14 11–3–0 217 436 49.8 3574 20 4.6 19 4.4 87 8.2 7.2 16.5 255.3 74.8 Opp Totals 14 187 403 46.4 2567 17 4.2 28 6.9 6.4 4.09 13.7 183.4 77.9

Rushing Rushing Player G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Matt Snell 14 14 179 743 6 60 4.2 53.4 12.8 Emerson Boozer 12 12 143 441 5 33 3.1 36.8 11.9 Bill Mathis 14 2 74 208 5 16 2.8 14.9 5.3 Billy Joe 10 0 42 186 3 32 4.4 18.6 4.2 George Sauer 14 14 2 21 0 15 10.5 1.5 0.1 Mark Smolinski 14 0 12 15 0 5 1.3 1.1 0.9 Joe Namath 14 14 5 11 2 4 2.2 0.8 0.4 Babe Parilli 14 0 7 −2 1 10 −0.3 −0.1 0.5 Curley Johnson 14 1 2 −6 0 0 −3.0 −0.4 0.1 Bill Rademacher 14 0 1 −13 0 −13 −13.0 −0.9 0.1 NYJ Totals 14 467 1608 22 60 3.4 114.9 33.4 Opp Totals 14 368 1195 9 3.2 85.4 26.3

Receiving Receiving Player G GS Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G George Sauer 14 14 66 1141 17.3 3 43 4.7 81.5 Don Maynard 13 13 57 1297 22.8 10 87 4.4 99.8 Pete Lammons 13 13 32 400 12.5 3 27 2.5 30.8 Matt Snell 14 14 16 105 6.6 1 39 1.1 7.5 Emerson Boozer 12 12 12 101 8.4 0 23 1.0 8.4 Bake Turner 13 1 10 241 24.1 2 71 0.8 18.5 Bill Mathis 14 2 9 149 16.6 1 31 0.6 10.6 Mark Smolinski 14 0 6 40 6.7 0 19 0.4 2.9 Curley Johnson 14 1 5 78 15.6 0 18 0.4 5.6 Billy Joe 10 0 2 11 5.5 0 11 0.2 1.1 Bill Rademacher 14 0 2 11 5.5 0 6 0.1 0.8 NYJ Totals 14 217 3574 16.5 20 87 15.5 255.3 Opp Totals 14 187 2168 11.6 17 13.4 154.9

Kicking Kicking Player G GS 0–19 20–29 30–39 40–49 50+ FGM FGA FG% XPM XPA XP% Jim Turner 14 0 8–8 15–18 6–10 5–9 0–1 34 46 73.9% 43 43 100.0% NYJ Totals 14 8–8 15–18 6–10 5–9 0–1 34 46 73.9% 43 43 100.0% Opp Totals 14 9 17 73.9% 33 34 97.1%

Punting Punting Player G GS Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P Curley Johnson 14 1 68 2977 65 1 43.8 NYJ Totals 14 68 2977 65 1 43.8 Opp Totals 14 98 3763 38.4

Kick Return Kick Return Player G GS Rt Yds TD Lng Y/RT Earl Christy 14 0 25 599 0 87 24.0 Bake Turner 13 1 14 319 0 36 22.8 Matt Snell 14 14 3 28 0 15 9.3 Mike D'Amato 13 0 1 32 0 32 32.0 Mark Smolinski 14 0 1 17 0 17 17.0 John Neidert 5 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 Bill Rademacher 14 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 NYJ Totals 14 46 995 0 87 21.6 Opp Totals 14 82 1664 0 20.3

Punt Return Punt Return Player G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Earl Christy 14 0 13 116 0 39 8.9 Bill Baird 14 14 18 111 0 20 6.2 Jim Richards 12 0 4 57 0 37 14.3 Gerry Philbin 14 14 1 2 0 2 2.0 NYJ Totals 14 36 286 0 39 7.9 Opp Totals 14 39 531 3 13.6

Defense & Fumbles