Top 5 Worst Losses in 30 Years of Being a Jets Fan

Owner's Note: Hey everyone, I want to introduce to you another new contributor to the Annoyed Jets Fan Blog: Spero. I've known Spero for a few years now & he's as big of a Jets fan as they come. He brings that dire passion & heartache every Jets fan has. So enjoy what he has to say!

Shout-out to my dad for not being a big football fan and thus leaving eight year old me on my own when it came to choosing a team and a lifetime of devoted fandom. I've always loved the color green and in 1998 the Jets had a super fun team with the likes of Curtis Martin, Keyshawn Johnson, and Wayne Chrebet. I was hooked and the rest as they say is history. Now there have been some ups over the years (later blog post to come) but the DNA of every die hard Jets fan mainly consists of enduring losing seasons and torturous losses that remain with us like scars on a body. Here are the five worst of my lifetime:

5. Week 17 2015 Loss to the Bills

The 2015 season, a.k.a. the last winning season the Jets have had (sigh), was super fun and included Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall having the greatest seasons in Jets history for a quarterback and a wide receiver respectively. For context, going into week 17 the Jets had just beaten the Patriots (last time that happened) in overtime and were 10-5 with their playoff destiny completely in their own hands. What stood in the way? A 7-8 Buffalo Bills team with absolutely nothing to play for, coached by an old friend.

Beating the Patriots the previous week had the team and the fan base feeling sky high which obviously had me terrified and right on script led to the team coming out flat as a pancake in Buffalo. My lasting memory of this game is future hall of famer and Jet legend Darrelle Revis getting beat like a drum over and over again by Sammy Watkins. The Jets would rally back from an early 13-0 deficit and get to within two in the 4th quarter until Fitzpatrick threw a back breaking interception in the end zone. And just like that the season was over and the playoff drought continued and it’s still going strong to this very day (*takes a drink).

4. Divisional Round Loss to the Steelers ’04-’05 season (“Doug Brien Game”)

This was one of those losses where you turn off the TV when it ends and you just stare at the walls because the last thing in the world you want to do at that moment is watch any more sports or god-forbid highlight shows. The upstart Jets, led by my all-time favorite Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, came into Pittsburgh for a divisional round match-up against rookie Ben Roethlisberger and his 15-1 Steelers who were in the midst of a 14-game winning streak. Santana Moss returned a punt for a touchdown early and then in the second half safety Reggie Tongue picked off Big Ben and took one 86 yards to the house to put the Jets up by 7 and give Jets fans dreams of an AFC Championship match-up the following week vs. the hated Patriots. Pittsburgh would tie the game at 17 late in the fourth but then Chad immediately responded with a clutch drive that set up kicker Doug Brien (who had been money all season) with a go-ahead 47-yard attempt. He hit the crossbar. INSANELY enough on the very next play Ben threw another interception and Brien and the Jets would almost immediately get a shot at redemption. Very conservative play calling set up Doug Brien with a 43-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation to snap the Steelers 14 game winning streak. I was so naive back in 2005 and remember feeling confident, thinking there was NO WAY he could miss another game winning kick. He did. And the Steelers ended up winning in overtime. Jets life baby.

3. AFC Championship Loss to the Broncos ’98-’99 season

Honestly this game would probably be number one on this list if I was older at the time and remembered more of the painful details of the game. The ’98 Jets under Bill Parcells were the best Jets team since Joe Willie’s championship team in 1968, and honestly it’s not even up for debate. They went 12-4 (most wins the Jets have ever had) and won the franchise’s first division title since Namath and the 1969 team. They had a bye in the first round (can you imagine?!) before beating up on the Jaguars at home setting up an AFC Championship match-up in Denver against the defending Super Bowl champion Broncos. With the Jets up 10-0 at halftime and 30 minutes away from their first Super Bowl in 30 years I remember life was pretty sweet being a Yankees and Jets fan…

What made this loss even more painful and brutal to deal with was that the Falcons shockingly upset the 15-1 power-house Vikings in the NFC Championship and the Jets would have been big favorites had they held on to that halftime lead in Denver.

2. Christmas Eve 2011 Loss to the Giants

Most painful regular season loss I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure I’m not alone and all Jets fans reading this still have vivid memories of Victor Cruz cruising down the sideline for a 99-yard touchdown after Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson combined to completely whiff on tackling him for what should have been a 10-yard catch. The Jets were 8-6 at the time and coming off two consecutive AFC Championship appearances, looking to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season. They were leading the game 7-3 late in the first half against the equally desperate Giants and had them pinned back to their own one-yard line and the down was 3rd and 10. Little did we know that one play would completely flip the fortunes and futures for those two franchises. The Jets would obviously go on to lose that game and again lose the following week in Miami to finish 8-8 and the team has had one winning season since and ZERO playoff appearances. The Giants would follow that win up by going on a magical run all the way to a Super Bowl victory, their second in five seasons. Worst Christmas of my life and it’s not even close.

1. AFC Championship Game Loss to the Steelers ’10-’11 Season

The previous year the Jets went 9-7 under first year coach Rex Ryan and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez before going on what felt like a miracle run to the AFC Championship Game. Obviously losing to the Colts and Peyton Manning was a huge gut punch, especially after we took an early 11-point lead, but the Colts went on to score 24 unanswered points and win 30-17. They were clearly the superior team and if we’re being honest, the Jets deep down probably felt a little happy just to be in that game. The 2010 season, things were different. Going into year two of Rex and coming off the greatest season of Hard Knocks there ever will be, the team was oozing with confidence and cockiness and a whole lot of talent too. They had added Santonio Holmes and LaDainian Tomlinson to a young core fresh off of postseason experience. The Jets went 11-5 and then went into Indy and New England in the playoffs and knocked off Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in their houses.

I could taste the Super Bowl after we slayed the dragon in Foxborough and “couldn’t wait” to get to Pittsburgh. The problem was, much like going into week 17 of 2015 coming off a big Patriots win, the Jets appeared hungover and laid a complete egg in the first half vs. the Steelers. I loved Rex but for me that dismal first half performance, in digging themselves a 24-3 hole, is the biggest black mark on Rex Ryan’s Jets coaching legacy.

But that Jets team had so much fight in it all year and they weren’t going down without a fight. The offense finally got going, scoring two second half touchdowns, and after Sanchez hit Jericho Cotchery in the end zone to bring the Jets to within 24-19, they just needed one defensive stop to get Sanchez the ball back and the chance to win the game. This is crazy to type now knowing how the rest of Mark Sanchez’s career went, but ten years ago watching that game I remember feeling confident that if the defense could get the stop we were going to the Super Bowl. Sanchez never got that chance as Ben rolled out of the pocket on 3rd and 6 and ended the game on a first down conversion to some rookie wide receiver named Antonio Brown. And just like that the Super Bowl dream was over. Even more painful this was the last playoff game the Jets have played in.

Honorable Mentions

“Butt-fumble Game” Thanksgiving Day 2012 Loss to the Patriots

I’m sure this game would crack a lot of Jets fans top 5 most painful losses but it doesn’t for me because of the stakes. The Jets were 4-6 entering that game on their way to a 6-10 season and were not a good football team. Now was the game itself beyond embarrassing? I was lucky enough to be in the building sitting with about six friends of mine who are diehard Pats friends. YES it definitely was! Shout-out to Lenny Kravitz for playing a half-time show that night in front of one of the most depressed crowds in the history of half-time shows. Worst game I’ve ever been to, that’s for sure.

Monday Night 45-3 Loss to the Patriots in 2010

The Jets were soaring and 9-2 entering this Monday night showdown with their biggest rival. This game would go a long way towards determining the winner of the AFC East and was a chance to show the country on national television that we were for real and the best team in the AFC. Um, yea we failed that test. Big time. Only one reason this game didn’t crack the top five: sweet, sweet revenge would come later that season.

AFC Championship Game Loss to the Colts ’09-’10 Season

I mentioned this game a bit earlier. Obviously, the Jets are not a franchise that exactly make the AFC Championship on a regular basis so this was a huge opportunity and the early 17-6 lead we jumped out to got me thinking we might be on a magic carpet ride all the way to the Super Bowl. But Peyton and that wagon of a Colts offense had different plans.

Divisional Round Loss to the Raiders ’02-’03 Season

This game itself was an ass-kicking to the Raiders in Oakland, the Jets lost 30-10. But it makes my honorable mention list because that ’02 season was arguably the most fun of my Jets fandom. They started 2-5 and then caught fire under first year starter Chadwick Pennington, finishing 9-7 and winning the AFC East (hasn’t been accomplished since). The first round of the playoffs they hosted Peyton and the Colts and handed the Sheriff the worst loss of his professional career, shutting him out 41-0 (only time in Peyton’s career he was shut out). The clock depressingly struck midnight that afternoon in Oakland.

If you're a Jets fan old enough to remember all of these heart crushing losses and you just read this whole blog and watched the accompanying clips, you've earned yourself a shower and a stiff drink or five.