The 1988 New York Jets season was the 29th season for the team and the 19th in the National Football League . It began with the team trying to improve upon its 6–9 record from 1987 under head coach Joe Walton . The Jets finished the season with a record of 8–7–1. Although for the second straight year they failed to qualify for the playoffs, they would play the spoiler, as a victory over their cross-town rival New York Giants in week 16 kept the Giants out of the playoffs due to a series of tiebreakers. For the third time in his career, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions among quarterbacks. He had 7 interceptions in 424 passing attempts.
A ticket for a September 1988 game between the Jets and the Cleveland Browns. The Jets endured a major distraction when Mark Gastineau , the team's main pass rusher who appeared to be experiencing a career-renaissance, abruptly retired in midseason to tend to ailing actress Brigitte Nielsen .
Offseason Personnel Staff 1988 New York Jets staff Front office
Owner – Leon Hess President/general manager – Jim Kensil Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Special teams coaches
[1]
Roster 1988 New York Jets final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics 47 active, 18 inactive
Starters [2]
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at New England Patriots L 3–280–1 Sullivan Stadium 44,027 2 September 11 at Cleveland Browns W 23–31–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,434 3 September 18 Houston Oilers W 45–32–1 Giants Stadium 64,483 4 September 25 at Detroit Lions W 17–103–1 Pontiac Silverdome 29,250 5 October 2 Kansas City Chiefs T 17–17 (OT)3–1–1 Giants Stadium 66,110 6 October 9 at Cincinnati Bengals L 19–363–2–1 Riverfront Stadium 57,482 7 October 17 Buffalo Bills L 14–373–3–1 Giants Stadium 70,218 8 October 23 at Miami Dolphins W 44–304–3–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 68,292 9 October 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–205–3–1 Giants Stadium 64,862 10 November 6 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–385–4–1 Hoosier Dome 59,233 11 November 13 New England Patriots L 13–145–5–1 Giants Stadium 48,358 12 November 20 at Buffalo Bills L 6–9 (OT)5–6–1 Rich Stadium 78,389 13 November 27 Miami Dolphins W 38–346–6–1 Giants Stadium 52,752 14 December 4 at Kansas City Chiefs L 34–386–7–1 Arrowhead Stadium 30,059 15 December 10 Indianapolis Colts W 34–167–7–1 Giants Stadium 46,284 16 December 18 New York Giants W 27–218–7–1 Giants Stadium 69,770 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 3 0 0 0 3 • Patriots 3 3 10 12 28
[3]
Week 2 1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 3 3 3 14 23 Browns 3 0 0 0 3
Date: September 11Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium , Cleveland, Ohio Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C) • wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)Referee: Tom DooleyTV announcers (NBC): Mel Proctor and Al DeRogatisScoring summary 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 22 yard field goalJets 3–0 1 CLE Matt Bahr 47 yard field goalTie 3–3 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 29 yard field goal Jets 6–3 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 23 yard field goal Jets 9–3 4 NYJ Roger Vick 1 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 16–3 4 NYJ Roger Vick 3 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 23–3
[4]
Week 3 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 0 0 0 3 • Jets 14 14 3 14 45
Date: September 18Location: Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 67 °F (19.4 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)Referee: Bob McElweeTelevision network: NBC
[5]
Week 4 1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 3 7 0 7 17 Lions 3 0 7 0 10
[6]
Week 5 1 2 3 4 OT Total Chiefs 0 0 3 14 0 17 Jets 3 7 0 7 0 17
[7]
Week 6 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 9 3 7 0 19 • Bengals 6 13 7 0 26
Date: October 9Location: Riverfront Stadium , Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 51 °F (10.6 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)Referee: Dick HantakTV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
[8]
Week 7 1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 17 14 3 3 37 Jets 0 7 7 0 14
Date: October 17Location: Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C), wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)Referee: Dick JorgensenTV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, and Dan Dierdorf
[9]
Week 8 1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 6 24 7 7 44 Dolphins 7 3 13 7 30
Date: October 23Location: Joe Robbie Stadium , Miami, Florida Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)Referee: Bob McElweeTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
[10]
Week 9 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 10 0 0 10 20 • Jets 0 10 7 7 24
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Week 10 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 14 0 0 14 • Colts 7 3 21 7 38
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Week 11 1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 0 7 7 14 Jets 0 3 3 7 13
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Week 12 1 2 3 4 OT Total Jets 0 3 0 3 0 6 • Bills 0 0 3 3 3 9
Date: November 20Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New YorkGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 78,389Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C) • wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)Scoring summary 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 23 yard field goalJets 3–0 3 BUF Scott Norwood 25 yard field goalTie 3–3 4 BUF Scott Norwood 26 yard field goal Bills 6–3 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 40 yard field goal Tie 6–6 OT BUF Scott Norwood 30 yard field goal Bills 9–6
[14]
Week 13 1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 7 20 0 34 • Jets 7 17 0 14 38
Date: November 27Location: Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)Referee: Jerry SeemanTV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
[15]
Week 14 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 10 10 7 7 34 • Chiefs 14 7 0 17 38
[16]
Week 15 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 7 3 0 16 • Jets 10 0 21 3 34
Date: December 10Location: Giants Stadium , East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 12:30 p.m. Game weather: 31 °F (−0.6 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)Referee: Johnny GrierTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
[17]
Week 16 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 7 7 7 21 • Jets 10 3 7 7 27
Scoring summary 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 41 yard field goalJets 3–0 1 NYJ Mickey Shuler 5 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 10–0 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 20 yard field goal Jets 13–0 2 NYG Stephen Baker 5 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick)Jets 13–7 3 NYJ Freeman McNeil 6 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 20–7 3 NYG Stephen Baker 9 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick) Jets 20–14 4 NYG Lionel Manuel 9 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick)Giants 21–20 4 :37 NYJ Al Toon 5 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 27–21
[18]
Standings External links References .jpg)
