The Jets will miss the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season and some players have suggested they know why.
Following Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins, wide receiver Garrett Wilson said the Jets may have a losing “gene” with the franchise suffering through a disappointing 3-10 season following Super Bowl expectations during the offseason.
On Wednesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered his insight on what may be holding the Jets back.
“Might be some sort of curse we got to snap as well,” Rodgers said. “But whatever the case, this team, this organization is going to figure out how to get over the hump at some point.
“The culture is built by the players. There’s a framework set down by the organization, by the upper ups, by the staff, but in the end it’s the players that make it come to life and at some point everybody’s going to have to figure out what that special sauce is to turn those games that should be wins into wins.”
Since their first year of existence in 1960 as part of the AFL, the Jets have mostly struggled as a franchise. In 64 seasons, the Jets have made the playoffs just 14 times, won four division titles and famously won Super Bowl III during the 1968 season.
However, the last 14 years have been especially rough for Gang Green. The Jets last made the playoffs in 2010, when Rex Ryan was the coach and Mark Sanchez was the quarterback.
Since then, five Jets coaches have been unable to snap their current playoff drought — Ryan (four seasons), Todd Bowles (four), Adam Gase (two), Saleh (three) and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich (one). Not only do the Jets have the longest postseason in North American sports, but they haven’t finished with a winning record since 2015.
After Rodgers was acquired in a trade from the Packers in April of 2023, the Jets misfortunes were supposed to change and many believed they would be championship contenders. But Rodgers’ season lasted just four plays before he tore his Achilles and missed the rest of the season.
Rodgers, 41, returned this season, but the losing has continued. Gang Green has lost nine of its last 10 games, and owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during that stretch.
How do the Jets change their culture?
“First, we gotta win, do whatever it takes to win some games,” Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “I can say stuff about changing the culture, but if we not winning, it’s like I’m just talking at that point, you know, and I don’t want to just be talking.
“Obviously, I want to win … got people that voice their frustration. You know, you got fans, who to be honest, they pay money to [be] season ticket holders. And it’s like the end of the day, we still losing. I don’t want to keep losing. I want to do whatever it takes so we could turn around.”
While they won’t be in the playoffs this season, the Jets would like to end the season on a positive note, beginning this Sunday against the Jaguars.
Gang Green is 0-7 in games decided by six or fewer points. The Jets have also led in the fourth quarter in five games this season. However, they have lost every single one of those games, including against the Dolphins last Sunday, when they held an eight-point lead in the final 15 minutes.
“I don’t know what the proper nomenclature is for the situation where we’ve lost some leads or haven’t been able to take the lead late in the game, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Rodgers said. “We haven’t been great in situational football.
“Lot of those games come down to the plays in the first and second, even third quarter, where if you make the play the game is not in that situation. But in those situations, we haven’t been very good on offense or defense or even special teams.”
