1998 New York Jets season

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.

NFL draft

Main article: 1998 NFL draft

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Season summary

Week 1 at 49ers

First quarter

• NYJ – John Hall 34-yard field goal, 11:34. ''Jets 3–0. '''Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 1:49.'''''
• SF – Garrison Hearst 5-yard run (Wade Richey kick), 3:31. ''49ers 7–3. '''Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 3:52.''''' Second quarter
• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson 41-yard pass from Glenn Foley (John Hall kick), 10:11. ''Jets 10–7. '''Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:34.'''''
• SF – J.J. Stokes 6 yard pass from Steve Young (Wade Richey kick), 2:11. ''49ers 14–10. '''Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:05.'''''
• NYJ – Wayne Chrebet 6-yard pass from Glenn Foley (John Hall kick), 0:33. ''Jets 17–14. '''Drive: 5 plays, 60 yards, 1:38.''''' Third quarter
• SF – Wade Richey 22-yard field goal, 9:05. ''Tie 17–17. '''Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, 2:51.'''''
• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson 21-yard pass from Glenn Foley (John Hall kick), 7:15. ''Jets 24–17. '''Drive: 4 plays, 78 yards, 1:50.'''''
• SF – Jerry Rice 14-yard pass from Steve Young (kick blocked), 3:03. ''Jets 24–23. '''Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 4:12.''''' Fourth quarter
• NYJ – John Hall 32-yard field goal, 3:28. ''Jets 27–23. '''Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 4:34.'''''
• SF – J.J. Stokes 31-yard pass from Steve Young (Wade Richey kick), 1:26. ''49ers 30–27. '''Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 2:12.'''''
• NYJ – John Hall 31-yard field goal, 0:00. ''Tie 30–30. '''Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 1:26.''''' Overtime
• SF – Garrison Hearst 96-yard run, 10:52. ''49ers 36–30. '''Drive: 1 play, 96 yards, 0:17.''''' ;Top passers
• NYJ – Glenn Foley – 30/58, 415 yards, 3 TD, INT
• SF – Steve Young – 26/46, 363 yards, 3 TD, INT ;Top rushers
• NYJ – Curtis Martin – 22 rushes, 58 yards
• SF – Garrison Hearst – 20 rushes, 187 yards, 2 TD ;Top receivers
• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson – 9 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TD
• SF – J.J. Stokes – 7 receptions, 111 yards, 2 TD

Week 11 at Colts

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs (3) Jacksonville Jaguars

First quarter

• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson 21-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (John Hall kick), 10:26. ''Jets 7–0. '''Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 4:34.''''' Second quarter
• NYJ – John Hall 52-yard field goal, 10:35. ''Jets 10–0. '''Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 5:43.'''''
• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson 10-yard run (John Hall kick), 0:33. ''Jets 17–0. '''Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 4:36.'''''
• JAX – Jimmy Smith 52-yard pass from Mark Brunell (Mike Hollis kick), 0:00. ''Jets 17–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 63 yards, 0:33.''''' Third quarter
• NYJ – Curtis Martin 1-yard run (John Hall kick), 9:13. ''Jets 24–7. '''Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 3:06.'''''
• JAX – Keenan McCardell 3-yard pass from Mark Brunell (Mike Hollis kick), 8:08. ''Jets 24–14. '''Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:05.'''''
• NYJ – Curtis Martin 1-yard run (John Hall kick), 2:16. ''Jets 31–14. '''Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 5:52.''''' Fourth quarter
• JAX – Jimmy Smith 19-yard pass from Mark Brunell (Mike Hollis kick), 9:58. ''Jets 31–21. '''Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 3:30.'''''
• JAX – Mike Hollis 37-yard field goal, 6:38. ''Jets 31–24. '''Drive: 7 plays, 22 yards, 2:20.'''''
• NYJ – John Hall 30-yard field goal, 0:24. ''Jets 34–24. '''Drive: 4 plays, -4 yards, 1:35.''''' Top passers
• JAX – Mark Brunell – 12/31, 156 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
• NYJ – Vinny Testaverde – 24/36, 284 yards, TD, INT Top rushers
• JAX – Fred Taylor – 20 rushes, 86 yards
• NYJ – Curtis Martin – 36 rushes, 124 yards, 2 TD Top receivers
• JAX – Jimmy Smith – 5 receptions, 104 yards, 2 TD
• NYJ – Keyshawn Johnson – 9 receptions, 121 yards, TD

AFC Championship Game: at (1) Denver Broncos

First quarter

• no scoring Second quarter
• NYJ – John Hall 32 yard field goal. Jets 3–0 Third quarter
• NYJ – Curtis Martin 1 yard rush (John Hall kick) Jets 10–0
• Den – Howard Griffith 11 yard pass from John Elway (Jason Elam kick) Jets 10–7
• Den – Jason Elam 44 yard field goal. Tie 10–10
• Den – Jason Elam 48 yard field goal. Broncos 13–10
• Den – Terrell Davis 31 yard rush (Jason Elam kick) Broncos 20–10 Fourth quarter
• Den – Jason Elam 35 yard field goal Broncos 23–10

Jets

• Vinny Testaverde. 31-56, 356 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int
• Wayne Chrebet. 8 rec, 121 yards

Broncos

• John Elway. 13-34, 173 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int
• Terrell Davis. 32 rush, 167 yards, 1 TD

Turnovers:

• Jets – 6
• Broncos – 0

Notes

References

References

1. [http://pfref.com/tiny/jHNl9 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.]