The Jets–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.
Both teams play in the AFC East. They have been in the same division since the two teams' inception in 1960 in the American Football League, and have played each other at least twice a year since then. Games between the two teams have often played out like the fierce Yankees–Red Sox rivalry in Major League Baseball, given the geographic rivalry between New York City and Boston.
The Patriots lead the overall series, 77–56–1. The two teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Patriots holding a 2–1 record.
History 1960–1969: The AFL years
The New York Jets (then known as the Titans of New York) and the New England Patriots (then known as the Boston Patriots) were charter members of the American Football League (AFL).
In the two clubs' first meeting on September 17, 1960, the Titans hosted the Patriots at New York's Polo Grounds. Al Dorow of the Titans erupted to three touchdown throws and led the Titans to a 24–7 lead in the third quarter. But Butch Songin and 109 rushing yards by Patriots runners closed the gap to 24–21 in the fourth quarter, then Chuck Shonta finished off the Titans when punter Rick Sapienza fumbled the snap to take a 28–24 lead. The ball bounced around wildly until Shonta picked up the ball at the 25 and ran in for a touchdown. The Titans argued that Patriots' linebacker Jack Rudolph had kicked the ball, which was illegal, during the chase for the ball, but the play stood, resulting in a 28–24 Patriots win.
Despite losing the inaugural game, the Titans/Jets posted a record of 12–7–1 during the AFL years. The tie occurred on October 2, 1966. This was the only tie in the rivalry's history. The Patriots led 24–7 after three quarters but two Joe Namath touchdowns and a Jim Turner field goal tied the game. It would also be the last time the Patriots did not lose to the Jets until 1971.Boston Patriots 1966 Season box scores Later that season, the Jets knocked the Patriots out of the playoff race in Shea Stadium as three Joe Namath touchdown throws (including a 77-yard strike to George Sauer, Jr.) led the Jets to a 38–28 win, despite Vito Parilli throwing for 379 yards.
1970–1979: Joining the NFL
The Jets continued their success in the series through the 1970s, posting a 12–8 record against their rival. The Jets dominated the early part of the decade, going 10–2 from 1970 to 1975, while the Patriots went 6–2 from 1976 to 1979.
On October 13, 1974, at Shea Stadium the Patriots shut out the then-1–4 Jets, 24–0, as Sam Cunningham rushed in two touchdowns and Bob Geddes ran back a Joe Namath interception for a 23-yard touchdown; the win was New England's fifth straight in 1974 and first over the Jets since October 10, 1971. Five weeks later, on November 17, the Jets, rolled to a 21–16 win as Namath threw two touchdowns and Jim Plunkett was picked off four times. The win put the Jets at 3–7 as they finished the season with a six-game winning streak while the Patriots fell to 7–7.
On October 18, 1976, The Patriots hosted the Jets on Monday Night Football, which was unofficially renamed "Monday Night Madness" when the rowdiness of drunken fans at Schaefer Stadium led to mass arrests by local police and the cuffing of fans to a chain-link fence when other space became unavailable. Patriots running backs Andy Johnson, Don Calhoun, and Sam Cunningham and quarterback Steve Grogan combined for 330 rushing yards and five touchdowns, including a fumble recovered by Grogan in the second quarter. Grogan also completed a short touchdown pass to Johnson, culminating in a 41–7 Patriots win.New York Jets 1976 Season box scores The game achieved further notoriety as Jets coach Lou Holtz had authored a fight song for the team that was mockingly read on the pregame by Alex Karras, who was providing color analysis for ABC Sports.Jets at Patriots 1976 Monday Night Football intro from YouTube
Later that season on November 21, Namath threw six interceptions; Mike Haynes had three interceptions and Prentice McCray had two, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Jets' backup Richard Todd threw a seventh interception in the fourth quarter, while the Jets also lost three fumbles, as the Patriots won 38–24.
On October 29, 1978, the Patriots erupted to a 48–7 third quarter lead, ultimately winning 55–21. Jets coach Walt Michaels felt the Patriots were decifering his coaching staff's signals and suspected a rival team had told these codes to the Patriots. Michaels explained afterward, "This will never happen to us again. I know what they did, but by the time we figured it out, it was too late." Later that season the Houston Oilers erased a 23–0 gap to beat the Patriots, 26–23, and there was speculation the Jets had told Oilers coaches about Patriots codes.The New England Patriots: Triumph & Tragedy (New York: Atheneum) by Larry Fox, pp. 278-9
On September 9, 1979, Grogan set a Patriots record with five touchdown passes in a 56–3 Patriots win at Schaefer Stadium; his touchdown record stood until Tom Brady broke it in 2007. Following the game a scuffle ensued in the crowded locker room between cornerback Raymond Clayborn and Boston Globe writer Will McDonough. Harold Jackson caught three touchdown passes in the game.
1980–1996 Parity took over this rivalry over much of the next two decades, as the Patriots posted a 19–15 record between 1980 and 1996. This time saw highs and lows for both teams. The Patriots appeared in Super Bowls XX and XXXI following the 1985 and 1996 seasons, respectively, but lost at least ten games every year from 1989 to 1993. Meanwhile, the Jets had five playoff appearances in the 1980s and early 1990s, but fell to the bottom of the league by the mid-1990s.
On October 28, 1984, Patriots head coach Ron Meyer fired assistant coach Rod Rust, but he did not have the authority to do so and was fired himself. Raymond Berry, an assistant with Chuck Fairbanks and Ron Erhardt, was hired, and his first game was against the Jets. The Jets bolted to a 10–0 lead and then led 20–6 at the half, but the Patriots led by running back Craig James fought back and scored 24 unanswered points by Tony Franklin, James, Tony Eason, Tony Collins, and Stephen Starring for a 30–20 Patriots win. Collins later said Berry earned the respect of the locker room in that one game.
In the first playoff meeting between the two clubs on December 28, 1985, the Patriots traveled to Giants Stadium. The Jets took a 7–3 in the second quarter, but the Patriots scored 23 points in a 26–14 win, the team's first playoff win in the NFL and first overall since 1963. The Patriots would go onto Super Bowl XX that season, but fall short to the Chicago Bears.
The October 12, 1986 meeting saw memorable performances by Jets running back Johnny Hector and Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan, who was replacing oft-injured starter Tony Eason. Hector rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns as the Jets built a 24–0 halftime lead. Grogan, throwing for 401 yards and three scores, led a Patriots comeback, but with the Jets holding a tenuous 31–24 led with one minute remaining, Grogan completed a 31-yard pass to Irving Fryar across midfield. Fryar fumbled the ball when he was hit by Jets defenders, securing the Jets win.
On October 16, 1994, The Jets hosted the Patriots with both teams at 3–3. Future Patriots coach Pete Carroll was in his first year heading the Jets while future Jets coach Bill Parcells was in his second season heading the Patriots. Brad Baxter rushed for two touchdowns and Boomer Esiason threw for an additional score despite being sacked six times. The Patriots lost the turnover battle, losing three fumbles and one interception en route to a 24–17 Jets win. Former Jets running back Blair Thomas rushed for 63 yards and a 4-yard touchdown for New England.October 16, 1994 Patriots at Jets box score from Pro Football Reference
On November 10, 1996, the Jets, coming into this contest with only four wins since the start of 1995, raced to a 21–0 second quarter lead after holding Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe without a completion in the entire first quarter. From there Bledsoe went 24–30 for 297 yards and overcame two interceptions and two sacks. After a Terry Glenn score in the second quarter, Bledsoe's second touchdown went to Ben Coates and tied the game at 24. A Jets field goal made it 27–24 when Bledsoe completed a pass to Coates at the 50-yard line on 4th and 2. The Jets disputed the ball spot by line judge Charles Stewart (the ball spot was also criticized by ESPN) but the first down call stood, and Bledsoe found Keith Byars for the game-winning score. A late Jets rally was stopped on an endzone interception by Lawyer Milloy for a 31–27 Patriots win.November 10, 1996 Patriots at Jets box score from Pro Football Reference
1997–1999: Bill Parcells moves to the Jets Patriots' head coach Bill Parcells' contract was set to expire after the Patriots' appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. In the time preceding the game, rumors surfaced that Parcells would seek a coaching job elsewhere with more say in personnel decisions than he had under Patriots owner Robert Kraft. In the 1996 NFL draft, Parcells had wanted to select a defender with the Patriots' seventh overall pick, but Kraft and personnel director Bobby Grier wanted wide receiver Terry Glenn instead, who was drafted.
After the Super Bowl, Parcells resigned from the Patriots, prompting Kraft to believe the Jets had been tampering with Parcells in an attempt for him to resign and take the Jets' vacant head coaching position and have say in the Jets' first overall selection in the 1997 NFL draft. The Jets decided that since Parcells couldn't be their head coach in 1997 because of his contract renegotiation, they would hire Parcells as a consultant and have Bill Belichick, who followed Parcells from the Patriots, hold the title of head coach. Kraft, who was requesting a first-round pick in return for allowing Parcells to coach elsewhere, called the Jets' agreement "a transparent farce" that "demonstrated it was the Jets' intention all along for Bill Parcells to become head coach of the Jets for the '97 season." Despite Parcells claiming the Jets had been given league permission for the consulting agreement, the NFL denied any permission was given, instead having commissioner Paul Tagliabue arrange an agreement between the two sides. The Patriots received third and fourth-round picks in the 1997 NFL Draft, a second-round pick in the 1998 NFL draft, and a first-round pick in the 1999 NFL draft in compensation for allowing Parcells to become the Jets' head coach.
With Parcells leaving for the Jets, the Patriots hired 49ers defensive coordinator Pete Carroll, who had been Jets head coach in 1994.
For the first time in over ten years the Patriots and Jets were locked in a serious fight for the AFC East division title. The two teams met in Foxboro on September 14. The game lead tied or changed seven times as both quarterbacks put up strong numbers but also costly errors — Neil O'Donnell was sacked seven times and fumbled three times, while on the Patriots side Drew Bledsoe threw two interceptions, one returned by Mo Lewis for a touchdown. With the game tied at 24, Jets kicker John Hall had a field goal blocked with 16 seconds remaining in regulation. Adam Vinatieri's 34-yard kick then won the game for the Patriots, 27–24, in overtime. From there, however, both teams struggled. The Patriots thus finished 10–6, while the Jets finished 9–7.