2011 New York Jets season

2011 New York Jets season
Owner	Woody & Christopher Johnson
General manager	Mike Tannenbaum
Head coach	Rex Ryan
Home field	MetLife Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson C Nick Mangold CB Darrelle Revis OG Brandon Moore
Uniform
← 2010 Jets seasons 2012 →

The 2011 New York Jets season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 52nd season overall and the team's third season under head coach Rex Ryan.

Despite sitting at 8-5 in early December, controlling their own destiny to make the postseason, the Jets finished at 8–8. The team failed to improve upon their 11–5 record from 2010 and failed to reach the playoffs and the AFC Championship game for the first time since 2008, which had a three-game losing streak to close the season. The Jets' 2011 season, from its NFL lockout-impacted start to the team's losing streak that marked its end was chronicled extensively in Nicholas Dawidoff's 2013 book Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football. Beginning in the offseason, Dawidoff embedded himself with the team, primarily with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and assistants Dennis Thurman and Mike Smith.^[1] This season would begin a lengthy postseason drought for the Jets. Since 2011, the team has failed to qualify for the playoffs, with just one winning season from 2011 to 2024.

• Strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi tendered his resignation from the team on January 31, 2011.^[2] In November 2010, Alosi became embroiled in controversy when he tripped Miami Dolphins' cornerback Nolan Carroll on a punt return that resulted in his suspension from the team.^[2] Former Atlanta Falcons' assistant Bill Hughan was hired as the team's new strength and conditioning coach two weeks later on February 14, 2011.^[3]
• Mike Bloomgren left his assistant offensive coordinator position with the team in February to become the offensive line coach and run coordinator at Stanford.^[4]
• Former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore was hired as an offensive consultant for the team in July 2011.^[5]

• The Jets signed Nick Novak on February 9, 2011, to compete with incumbent kicker Nick Folk.^[6]
• The Jets announced the addition of ten undrafted free agents on July 27, 2011; Josh Baker, Collin Franklin, Nick Bellore, Stafford Gatling, Michael Campbell, Dan DePalma, Courtney Smith, Tom Ottaiano, Chris Stewart, and Julian Posey.^[7]
• The Jets announced the addition of six undrafted free agents on July 28, 2011; Byron Landor, Davon Morgan, Zane Taylor, Taylor Boggs, Jeff Wills, and Matthias Berning.^[8]
• The Jets signed Chris Bryan and undrafted free agents Jeremy McGee and Jake Duron on July 29, 2011.^[9]
• The Jets signed Donald Strickland on July 30, 2011.^[10]
• The Jets signed Plaxico Burress on July 31, 2011.^[11]
• The Jets signed DaJuan Morgan on August 2, 2011.^[12]
• The Jets signed Trevor Canfield and Pete Clifford on August 4, 2011.^[13]
• The Jets signed Derrick Mason on August 6, 2011.^[14]
• The Jets signed Wilson Raynor and Keith Zinger on August 7, 2011.^[15]
• The Jets signed David Herron and Eddie Jones on August 9, 2011.^[16]
• The Jets signed Cordarol Scales on August 10, 2011.^[17]
• The Jets signed Aaron Maybin on August 17, 2011.^[18]
• The Jets signed Tracy Wilson and Nevin McCaskill on August 24, 2011.^[19]
• The Jets signed Isaiah Trufant on September 1, 2011.^[20]
• The Jets claimed Andrew Sendejo, Mardy Gilyard, Kevin O'Connell, and Colin Baxter off waivers on September 4, 2011.^[21]
• The Jets promoted Isaiah Trufant from the practice squad on September 10, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Patrick Turner from the practice squad on September 13, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Josh Baker from the practice squad on September 27, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets re-signed Aaron Maybin on September 28, 2011.^[23]
• The Jets promoted Eddie Jones from the practice squad on October 8, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets re-signed Ellis Lankster on October 11, 2011.^[24] Additionally, Martin Tevaseu was promoted from the practice squad.^[22]
• The Jets signed Eron Riley off the Broncos' practice squad on October 19, 2011.^[25]
• Shawn Nelson was signed to the Jets from Free Agency on October 31, 2011.^[26]
• The Jets signed Austin Howard from the Ravens' practice squad on November 25, 2011.^[27]
• The Jets promoted Tracy Wilson from the practice squad on November 28, 2011.^[28]
• The Jets signed Gerald Alexander following a season-ending knee injury to Jim Leonhard on December 13, 2011.^[29]
• The Jets promoted Ricky Sapp from the practice squad on December 29, 2011.^[30]

• The Jets released veterans Damien Woody, Kris Jenkins and Jason Taylor on February 28, 2011.^[31]
• The Jets released Vernon Gholston and Ben Hartsock on March 2, 2011.^[32]
• The Jets released Mark Brunell, Kevin O'Connell, Will Billingsley and Marlon Davis on July 29, 2011.^[33] Additionally, the Jets officially released retired quarterback Erik Ainge.^[9]
• The Jets released Carlos Brown on August 2, 2011.^[34]
• The Jets released Jerricho Cotchery on August 4, 2011.^[35] Additionally, Tom Ottaiano, Jeff Wills and Jeremy McGee were waived.^[13]
• The Jets released Cody Brown and waived Collin Franklin on August 7, 2011.^[15]
• The Jets waived DaJuan Morgan, Satfford Gatling and Carlton Powell.^[36]
• The Jets waived Taylor Boggs and David Herron on August 12, 2011.^[37][38]
• The Jets waived Cordarol Scales and Richard Taylor on August 17, 2011.^[39]
• The Jets waived Wilson Raynor, Brian Toal and Jake Duron on August 23, 2011.^[40]
• The Jets waived Brandon Long and Chris Stewart on August 24, 2011.^[41]
• The Jets waived Chris Bryan, Nick Novak and Courtney Smith on August 30, 2011.^[42]
• To meet the mandatory 53 man roster requirement, the Jets waived Josh Baker, Matthias Berning, Michael Campbell, Trevor Canfield, Pete Clifford, Dan DePalma, Robby Felix, Jarron Gilbert, Chris Jennings, Eddie Jones, Matt Kroul, Dennis Landolt, Byron Landor, Ellis Lankster, Joey LaRocque, Nevin McCaskill, Scotty McKnight, Davon Morgan, Julian Posey, Brashton Satele, Zane Taylor, Patrick Turner, Lorenzo Washington, Drew Willy, Tracy Wilson and Keith Zinger.^[43]
• The Jets waived Aaron Maybin, Isaiah Trufant and Martin Tevaseu on September 4, 2011.^[21]
• The Jets cut Mardy Gilyard on September 9, 2011.^[44]
• The Jets waived Andrew Sendejo on September 13, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets released Eddie Jones on October 11, 2011.^[24]
• The Jets waived Martin Tevaseu on October 18, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets waived Colin Baxter on October 25, 2011.^[45]
• The Jets waived Shawn Nelson on November 22, 2011.^[46]
• The Jets waived Emanuel Cook on November 28, 2011.^[28]
• The Jets waived Eron Riley on December 28, 2011.^[47]

• The Jets signed Josh Baker, Matthias Berning, Trevor Canfield, Jarron Gilbert, Matt Kroul, Julian Posey and Patrick Turner to the practice squad on September 4, 2011.^[21]
• The Jets signed Martin Tevaseu and Isaiah Trufant on September 5, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets signed Josh Baker and Andrew Sendejo on September 14, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets signed Matthias Berning and Scotty McKnight on September 21, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets signed Martell Webb, Michael Campbell and Julian Posey on September 27, 2011.^[48]
• The Jets signed Eddie Jones on September 28, 2011.^[23]
• The Jets signed Dennis Landolt on October 4, 2011.^[49]
• The Jets signed Michael Campbell and Tracy Wilson on October 12, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets re-signed Martin Tevaseu on October 20, 2011.^[50]
• The Jets signed Ricky Sapp and Jamarko Simmons and re-signed Matt Kroul and Dennis Landolt on October 31, 2011.^[26]
• The Jets re-signed Michael Campbell on November 1, 2011.^[51]
• The Jets signed Dexter Jackson on November 9, 2011.^[52]
• The Jets re-signed Jarron Gilbert on November 19, 2011.^[53]
• The Jets re-signed Eddie Jones on November 21, 2011.^[54]
• The Jets re-signed Ricky Sapp on November 28, 2011.^[28]
• The Jets re-signed Dexter Jackson on November 30, 2011.^[55]
• The Jets signed Mark LeGree on December 13, 2011.^[29]
• The Jets signed Eron Riley on December 29, 2011.^[30]

• The Jets released Josh Baker on September 5, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Isaiah Trufant to the active roster on September 10, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets released Matthias Berning on September 13, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Patrick Turner to the active roster on September 14, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets released Trevor Canfield and Julian Posey on September 19, 2011.^[56]
• Andrew Sendejo and Matthias Berning were released on September 27, 2011.^[48] Additionally, Josh Baker was promoted to the active roster.^[22]
• The Jets released Martell Webb and Michael Campbell on October 4, 2011.^[49]
• The Jets promoted Eddie Jones to the active roster on October 8, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Martin Tevaseu to the active roster on October 12, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets released Dennis Landolt on October 18, 2011.^[22]
• The Jets promoted Martin Tevaseu to the active roster on October 22, 2011.^[57]
• The Jets released Michael Campbell on October 24, 2011.^[58]
• The Jets released Matt Kroul on October 25, 2011.^[45]
• The Jets released Eddie Jones on October 31, 2011.^[26]
• The Jets released Jarron Gilbert on November 9, 2011.^[52]
• The Jets released Dexter Jackson on November 19, 2011.^[53]
• The Jets released Ricky Sapp on November 21, 2011.^[54]
• The Jets released Eddie Jones and promoted Tracy Wilson to the active roster on November 28, 2011.^[28]
• The Jets promoted Ricky Sapp to the active roster on December 29, 2011.^[30]

The Jets traded an unconditional draft pick to the Green Bay Packers for Caleb Schlauderaff.^[43]

• Dwight Lowery was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for an unconditional draft pick.^[43]
• Derrick Mason was traded to the Houston Texans for an unconditional draft pick on October 11, 2011.^[59]

Position	Player	Free agency tag	Date signed/released	2011 team	Notes
QB	Kellen Clemens	UFA	July 27, 2011	Washington Redskins	[60]
CB	Marquice Cole	ERFA	January 26, 2011	New York Jets	[61]
CB	Drew Coleman	UFA	July 29, 2011	Jacksonville Jaguars	[62]
CB	Antonio Cromartie	UFA	August 1, 2011	New York Jets	[63]
DL	Marcus Dixon	ERFA	January 26, 2011	New York Jets	[61]
WR	Braylon Edwards	UFA	August 4, 2011	San Francisco 49ers	[64]
DL	Shaun Ellis	UFA	August 7, 2011	New England Patriots	[65]
K	Nick Folk	UFA	July 27, 2011	New York Jets	[66]
LB	David Harris	UFA	August 2, 2011	New York Jets	[67][68][69]
WR	Santonio Holmes	UFA	July 27, 2011	New York Jets	[70]
OL	Wayne Hunter	UFA	July 26, 2011	New York Jets	[71]
S	James Ihedigbo	UFA	August 19, 2011	New England Patriots	[72]
LB	Lance Laury	UFA	–	–	–
S	Brodney Pool	UFA	August 3, 2011	New York Jets	[73]
DL	Trevor Pryce	UFA	–	–	–
FB	Tony Richardson	UFA	–	–	–
WR	Brad Smith	UFA	July 28, 2011	Buffalo Bills	[74]
S	Eric Smith	UFA	July 30, 2011	New York Jets	[75]
OL	Robert Turner	RFA	July 29, 2011	New York Jets	[76]
P	Steve Weatherford	UFA	July 29, 2011	New York Giants	[77]
RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent, FT: Franchise tag

Draft order		Player name	Position	Height	Weight	College	Notes
RD	PK
1	30 (30)	Muhammad Wilkerson	DL	6 ft 5 in	305 lbs	Temple
2	29 (61)	Traded to San Diego Chargers for CB Antonio Cromartie.
3	30 (94)	Kenrick Ellis	DT	6 ft 5 in	346 lbs	Hampton
4	29 (126)	Bilal Powell	RB	5 ft 11 in	207 lbs	Louisville
5	22 (153)	Jeremy Kerley	WR	5 ft 10 in	189 lbs	TCU	From Philadelphia Eagles for Draft Picks Rounds 5 and 6 Picks 161 and 194
	30 (161)	Traded to Philadelphia Eagles along with Draft Pick Round 6 Pick 194 for Draft Pick Round 5 Pick 153 and Round 7 Pick 227.
6	29 (194)	Traded to Philadelphia Eagles along with Draft Pick Round 5 Pick 161 for Draft Pick Round 5 Pick 153 and Round 7 Pick 227.
7	5 (208)	Greg McElroy	QB	6 ft 2 in	222 lb	Alabama	From Arizona Cardinals for FS Kerry Rhodes.
	24 (227)	Scotty McKnight	WR	5 ft 11 in	182 lb	Colorado	From Seattle Seahawks through Philadelphia Eagles
	30 (231)	Traded to Detroit Lions for QB Kevin O'Connell.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 15	at Houston Texans	L 16–20	0–1	Reliant Stadium	Recap
2	August 21	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–7	1–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
3	August 29	at New York Giants	W 17–3	2–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
4	September 1	Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–24	2–2	MetLife Stadium	Recap

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 11	Dallas Cowboys	W 27–24	1–0	MetLife Stadium	Recap
2	September 18	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 32–3	2–0	MetLife Stadium	Recap
3	September 25	at Oakland Raiders	L 24–34	2–1	O.co Coliseum	Recap
4	October 2	at Baltimore Ravens	L 17–34	2–2	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap
5	October 9	at New England Patriots	L 21–30	2–3	Gillette Stadium	Recap
6	October 17	Miami Dolphins	W 24–6	3–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap
7	October 23	San Diego Chargers	W 27–21	4–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap
8	Bye
9	November 6	at Buffalo Bills	W 27–11	5–3	Ralph Wilson Stadium	Recap
10	November 13	New England Patriots	L 16–37	5–4	MetLife Stadium	Recap
11	November 17	at Denver Broncos	L 13–17	5–5	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	Recap
12	November 27	Buffalo Bills	W 28–24	6–5	MetLife Stadium	Recap
13	December 4	at Washington Redskins	W 34–19	7–5	FedExField	Recap
14	December 11	Kansas City Chiefs	W 37–10	8–5	MetLife Stadium	Recap
15	December 18	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 19–45	8–6	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
16	December 24	New York Giants	L 14–29	8–7	MetLife Stadium	Recap
17	January 1	at Miami Dolphins	L 17–19	8–8	Sun Life Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

 #  Colored throwback Titans jerseys

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) New England Patriots	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	513	342	W8
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	394	382	L3
Miami Dolphins	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	348	330	W1
Buffalo Bills	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	372	434	L1

AFC[78] view talk edit
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division winners
1	New England Patriots	East	13	3	0	.813	5–1	10–2	.449	.423	W8
2[a]	Baltimore Ravens	North	12	4	0	.750	6–0	9–3	.477	.484	W2
3	Houston Texans	South	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	.453	.413	L3
4[b]	Denver Broncos	West	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	.520	.445	L3
Wild cards
5[a]	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.492	.411	W2
6[c]	Cincinnati Bengals	North	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	.492	.326	L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[c]	Tennessee Titans	South	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.461	.396	W2
8[d]	New York Jets	East	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	.500	.395	L3
9[b][d][e]	San Diego Chargers	West	8	8	0	.500	3–3	7–5	.516	.430	W1
10[b][e]	Oakland Raiders	West	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	.504	.438	L1
11	Kansas City Chiefs	West	7	9	0	.438	3–3	4–8	.512	.464	W1
12[f]	Miami Dolphins	East	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	.504	.417	W1
13[f]	Buffalo Bills	East	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	.520	.510	L1
14	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	5	11	0	.313	3–3	4–8	.500	.363	W1
15	Cleveland Browns	North	4	12	0	.250	0–6	3–9	.531	.313	L6
16	Indianapolis Colts	South	2	14	0	.125	2–4	2–10	.539	.594	L1
Tiebreakers[g]
^ a b Baltimore clinched the AFC North title based on a head-to-head sweep over Pittsburgh. ^ a b c Denver clinched the AFC West title instead of San Diego or Oakland based on record versus common opponents (5–5 to San Diego's and Oakland's 4–6). ^ a b Cincinnati clinched the AFC 6 seed instead of Tennessee based on a head-to-head victory. ^ a b New York Jets finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory. ^ a b San Diego finished ahead of Oakland in the AFC West based on better conference record (7–5 to 6–6). ^ a b Miami finished in third place in the AFC East based on a head-to-head sweep over Buffalo. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

New York Jets 2011 staff
	Front office Chairman/CEO – Woody Johnson Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Tannenbaum Assistant general manager – Scott Cohen Vice president of college scouting – Joey Clinkscales Senior personnel executive – Terry Bradway Assistant director of player personnel – JoJo Wooden Director of pro personnel – Brendan Phophett Assistant director of college scouting – Michael Davis Head coaches Head coach – Rex Ryan Assistant head coach/offensive line – Bill Callahan Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Brian Schottenheimer Quarterbacks – Matt Cavanaugh Running backs – Anthony Lynn Wide receivers – Henry Ellard Assistant offensive line/tight ends – Mike Devlin Offensive quality control – Lance Taylor Coaches’ Assistant – Andy Dickerson Consultant – Dan Shamash			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Pettine Defensive line – Mark Carrier Assistant defensive line – Jeff Weeks Linebackers – Bob Sutton Secondary – Dennis Thurman Assistant defensive backs – Jim O'Neil Defensive quality control – Brian Smith Coaching assistant – Samson Brown Coaching intern/outside linebackers – Mike Smith Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Mike Westhoff Assistant special teams – Ben Kotwica Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Bill Hughan Assistant strength and conditioning – Bryan Dermody

2011 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  8 Mark Brunell  7 Kevin O'Connell  6 Mark Sanchez Running backs (RB) 38 John Conner FB 23 Shonn Greene 25 Joe McKnight 29 Bilal Powell 21 LaDainian Tomlinson Wide receivers (WR) 17 Plaxico Burress 10 Santonio Holmes 11 Jeremy Kerley PR 88 Patrick Turner Tight ends (TE) 45 Josh Baker 81 Dustin Keller 82 Matthew Mulligan

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Vladimir Ducasse T 60 D'Brickashaw Ferguson T 77 Austin Howard T 78 Wayne Hunter T 74 Nick Mangold C 65 Brandon Moore G 72 Caleb Schlauderaff G 68 Matt Slauson G Defensive linemen (DL) 70 Mike DeVito DE 94 Marcus Dixon DE 93 Kenrick Ellis NT 79 Ropati Pitoitua DE 91 Sione Po'uha NT 95 Martin Tevaseu NT 96 Muhammad Wilkerson DE

Linebackers (LB) 54 Nick Bellore ILB 52 David Harris ILB 50 Garrett McIntyre OLB 53 Josh Mauga ILB 51 Aaron Maybin OLB 97 Calvin Pace OLB 92 Ricky Sapp OLB 57 Bart Scott ILB 55 Jamaal Westerman OLB Defensive backs (DB) 42 Gerald Alexander SS 34 Marquice Cole CB 31 Antonio Cromartie CB 26 Ellis Lankster CB 22 Brodney Pool S 24 Darrelle Revis CB 33 Eric Smith FS 30 Donald Strickland CB 35 Isaiah Trufant CB 20 Kyle Wilson CB 37 Tracy Wilson SS Special teams  4 T. J. Conley P  2 Nick Folk K 46 Tanner Purdum LS

Practice squad 84 Michael Campbell WR 83 Dedrick Epps TE 89 Dexter Jackson WR 66 Matt Kroul G 76 Dennis Landolt G 43 Mark LeGree S 15 Scotty McKnight WR (IR) 32 Julian Posey CB 19 Eron Riley WR 85 Jamarko Simmons WR (IR) Reserve 64 Taylor Boggs G (IR) 86 Jeff Cumberland TE (IR) 36 Jim Leonhard SS (IR) 14 Greg McElroy QB (IR) 18 Logan Payne WR (IR) 58 Bryan Thomas OLB (IR) 75 Rob Turner C/G (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 9 reserve, 8 practice squad

On the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Jets trailed 24-10 heading into the 4th quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Jets scored 17 unanswered points preserving the win for them. With the win, the Jets started their season 1–0.

With the huge win, the Jets improved to 2–0.

With the loss, the Jets fell to 2–1.

Hoping to rebound from their Week 3 road loss to the Raiders, the Jets flew to M&T Bank Stadium for a Week 4 Sunday night battle with the Baltimore Ravens, also head coach Rex Ryan's first return to Baltimore since leaving the Ravens following the 2008 season. Ryan served as the Ravens' defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach from the 1999 to 2008 seasons, and was part of their 2000 Super Bowl-winning squad. New York trailed early in the first quarter with Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain returning a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown. The Jets would respond with running back Joe McKnight returning a kickoff 107 yards for a touchdown. Baltimore would regain the lead with kicker Billy Cundiff getting a 38-yard field goal, followed by running back Ray Rice getting a 3-yard touchdown run. The Ravens added onto their lead in the second quarter with Cundiff making another 38-yard field goal, followed by linebacker Jarret Johnson returning a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown. New York responded with linebacker David Harris returning an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, followed by a 40-yard field goal from kicker Nick Folk. Baltimore came right back in the third quarter with cornerback Lardarius Webb returning an interception 73 yards for a touchdown. From there, the Ravens' defense prevented any comeback attempt.

With the loss, the Jets fell to 2–2.

With the loss, the Jets fell to 2–3.

With the win, the Jets improved to 3–3.

With the win, the Jets went into their bye week at 4–3.

With the win, the Jets improved to 5–3.

The Patriots head to MetLife Stadium for a Week 10 Sunday Night game with the Jets. The only time the Jets would lead would be in the 2nd quarter when they led 9–7 but they would get blown out in front of their home crowd 37–16. With the loss, the Jets dropped to 5–4. New York was also swept by New England for the first time since New England's 2007 season.

The second primetime game in a row for the Jets yet it was a Thursday Night game. The Jets led 13–10 with a little over a minute remaining when Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow marched his team down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown. With the loss, the Jets fell to 5–5 and needing to win some more games to qualify for the playoffs.

The Jets would come out on top in a seesaw battle over the Buffalo Bills. This time the Jets scored a game-winning touchdown. With the win, the Jets improved to 6-5 continuing on the road to a playoff berth.

The Jets would not lead for much of the game until the very end of the 4th quarter when they blew the game wide open. With the win, the Jets improved to 7–5.

The Jets won easily in a crushing rout, with the final score overstating the closeness of the game as the Chiefs' only touchdown came in garbage time after the game was already decided.^[79] The Chiefs offense gained only 4 total yards in the first two quarters. The Chiefs were also plagued with penalties, finishing the game with 11 penalties total. The Jets' final touchdown drive in the third quarter proved to be a particularly humiliating stretch. Starting from their own 10-yard line, the Jets gained 81 penalty yards on 5 penalties committed by the Chiefs, including a rare penalty directly assessed against head coach Todd Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct.^[80] The Jets improved to 8–5 and could "control their playoff destiny" at this point in the season, guaranteed to make it to the playoffs by winning the rest of their games.

The Jets would be thoroughly dominated by the Eagles throughout the game. With the loss, the Jets fell to 8–6. The Jets had never beaten the Eagles in franchise history at this point until eventually defeating them in 2023.

Both the Jets and Giants needed a win in order to stay in the playoff race. The Jets (8–6) hosting the Giants (7–7) would battle each other on Christmas Eve, Saturday afternoon edition. The Jets would lead 7–0 early on but the Giants responded and took over the rest of the game. With the loss for the Jets, they fell to 8–7.