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 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 historyThe 1997 Packers are the other to win seven games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, team won game, in games against playoff teams only, only in games against teams with winning record for season, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.

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

Undrafted free agents

+ 1998 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeGeno BellDefensive tackleArkansasShannon BrownDefensive tackleAlabamaCedric DonaldsonCornerbackLouisiana TechNakia JenkinsWide receiverUtah StateKeith LowzowskiFullbackNorthwesternJohn MunchLinebackerIllinois WesleyanBrian MussoWide receiverNorthwesternVictor TuatagaloaDefensive tackleHenderson StateDavid VigerDefensive tackleNavy

Roster New York Jets 1998 final roster Quarterbacks Glenn Foley Ray Lucas Vinny Testaverde

Running backs Richie Anderson FB Keith Byars FB Curtis Martin Dave Meggett PR Jerald Sowell FB

Wide receivers Wayne Chrebet Keyshawn Johnson Alex Van Dyke Dedric Ward PR

Tight ends Fred Baxter Kyle Brady Blake Spence Offensive linemen Alex Bernstein G Jim Bundren G Todd Burger G Jumbo Elliott T Jason Fabini T Mike Gisler C/G Kerry Jenkins G/T Doug Karczewski G Kevin Mawae C Matt O'Dwyer G

Defensive linemen Dorian Boose DE Jason Ferguson DT Bobby Hamilton DE Carl Hansen DE/DT Ernie Logan DT Rick Lyle DE Eric Ogbogu DE Anthony Pleasant DE Linebackers Chad Cascadden OLB Bryan Cox OLB James Farrior OLB Dwayne Gordon MLB/OLB Rob Holmberg MLB Pepper Johnson MLB Mo Lewis OLB

Defensive backs Corwin Brown CB/S Marcus Coleman CB Scott Frost FS Aaron Glenn CB/KR Victor Green SS Chris Hayes SS Jerome Henderson FS Ray Mickens CB Otis Smith CB Kevin Williams FS/KR

Special teams John Hall K John Hudson LS John Kidd P Reserve lists Casey Dailey LB (IR) Terry Day DE (IR) Leon Johnson RB (IR) Marvin Jones LB (IR) Craig Powell LB (IR) David Viger DT (Military Reserve)

Practice squad Geno Bell DT Chris Brazzell WR Robert Farmer RB Lawrence Hart TE Brian Musso WR

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 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 DolphinsW 20–9 2–2 Giants Stadium Recap 6 October 11 at St. Louis Rams L 10–30 2–3 Trans World Dome Recap 7 at New England PatriotsW 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 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

Season summary

Week 1 at 49ers

Week 8 vs Falcons

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. 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.

Week 11 at Colts

Playoffs Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (3) Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC Championship Game: at (1) Denver Broncos

Notes

References

External links 1998 team stats 1998 New York Jets video