I can't comment on the two 1980s teams. '98 & 2004 were probably my most favorite seasons/teams. I'm gonna vote based on which team had the most realistic chance of getting to the Super Bowl. The '98 team had to get through a great Denver team on the road, the 2004 team had to beat a 15-1 Pittsburgh team on the road, the 2009 team had to beat a Indianapolis team that had a chance to go undefeated (but rested their starters down the stretch) on the road. For that reason I'll vote for the 2010 team. They had the better team in that AFC Championship game shoulda won. Too bad they came out flat laid a egg.
98 team gets my vote. Hall of fame coaching staff and many great veteran players. Just a shame they didn’t finish in Denver. 2010 team would be my second choice they would have won the afc title game if they got the ball back just one more time. But the past is history and the future is a mystery but what keeps me going as a fan is hope that we will get the big dance one day and finally win it.
1982 and it's not even close. Aside from the NY Sack Exchange which was historic, the offense had the likes of Freeman McNeil and Wesley Walker and Lam Jones. Put Darnold with that group and he wins multiple SBs. Their "weak link" was Richard Todd, who was "okay", but not great. EDIT: OOPS! Mis-typed 1972 and meant 1982.
Maybe its the recent state of the Oline thats pushing me this way but I wish you had put 09 up there instead of 10. Watching Jones rush for 1400 yards behind an amazing Oline was prob one of the best for me.
1998 was the only season I felt like going into the playoffs that we were the best team in the league.
The Dolphins should've been heavily fined and the game forfeit. That was a dirty trick that would make BB proud.
I voted for 1998 but thought the 1999 team with Lucas at QB was better. Once they recovered from the Testaverde fiasco midway through the season, that team was hard to beat.
1986 (actually I think 1985 was a little better and were 11 -5 who lost to AFC champ Pats in playoffs) We were 10 - 1. (Before a late slide) some due to injuries. A roughing the passer penalty stopping us from going to AFC championship against the Broncos who we beat earlier in the season on MNF. Great air attack - WW, Toon, Mickey Shuler the best Jet TE in my opinion Great O line - Freeman and Hector at RB 3/4 of sack exchange intact - Lance Mehl at LB one of the most underrated Jets player ever. I know 1998 won more games, but O’Brien was way better than Todd or Testaverde
My favorite was the '82 team that lost the "Mud Bowl".. We actually punched the Raiders in the mouth and kicked their ass leading up to that game. Who knew Todd would bitch up.
I'm too young for the 80s, but the 1998 team was really good (too young to remember, but I was alive then). Unlike the Rex teams, I'm confident we would have won the Super Bowl if we made it there.
83 is when my fandom started. 86 is when I really started understanding the game and also my first heartbreak but I voted 98.
Wow this is a good thread idea .....and a tough decision. In some ways this thread is very painful too. Having seen all of these teams 1998 will squeak out over 1982 for my vote. My heart belongs to the 1982 team ( see my avatar ) but to put things simple without a long long painful summary it simply comes down to my strong opinion ( dare I say fact ) that the 1998 team would have won the SB going away. We destroyed Atlanta during the regular season that year and were 25 minutes away.......just 25 minutes from a rematch. It was the 30 th anniversary of the SB III championship in the same city ( Miami ). The 1982 team while sporting the sack exchange and all of those offensive weapons would have had a tougher task out on the west coast against the Redskins. Also keep in mind a forgotten fact - had the Jets won the mud bowl they would have been flying back out west the very next week for the SB ( due to the players strike ) and it would have marked their seventh consecutive road game yes as in 7 and two west coast trips in three weeks.... So the edge goes to the 1998 team.....
The 1986 team beat Elway's undefeated Broncos 22-10 on Monday night football to achieve a record of 6-1 before winning four more consecutive games to a 10-1 start. Their only loss at that point came in a rare Thursday night game in week two to division rival New England who had made the Superbowl the previous year. This same Patriots team would go on to win the AFC East only to lose to Elway's Broncos in the playoffs. The Jets would later defeat the Patriots in their own house. This run also included the week three shootout with Dan Marino where Wesley "Al Bundy" Walker scored four TDs to lead the Jets to a 51-45 OT win against the Miami Dolphins at home. Al Toon asurpassed 100 receiving yards while Walker was just short of 200 yards. In the home opener against Buffalo O'Brien lead the Jets to victory against the Bills in Jim Kelley's first NFL start. The Jets proceeded to sweep Kelley's Bills. This Jets team suffered adversity and injuries as it climbed to the top with a 10-1 record. When those injuries claimed all three members of the sack exchange (Klecko, Gastineau, and Lyons, three starters on OL (including pro bowl center Joe Fields), two of their top three receivers (Wesley Walker and Johnny Lam Jones), pro bowl linebacker Lance Mehl, and their starting QB Ken O'Brien (backup Pat Ryan and starting RB Freeman McNeil would also miss some time due to injury the Jets would finish the season with five straight losses. With the return of Marc Gastineau the Jets won a wild card game against the Chiefs and took the Browns to double overtime while literally having one arm tied behind its back. We know this team took down Elway's Broncos but they never got the chance to take on Parcell's Giants in the Subway Superbowl that might have seen the Jets in the promised land with a SB win.
I think Al Toon and Ken O'Brien put the 1986 team over the 1982 Jets. Keep in mind that Lam Jones was part of the 1986 team even though he was injured before the season started.
Voted the 98’ team, but the more I think about it, the 2010 team almost made it through the Murderers Row of playoff opponents for that time. Manning, Brady, Rothlesberger. Felt like they were closer to winning that last game than the 98’ team ended up being against the Broncos.
'98 was the best Jets team I ever saw. 12 wins, Division title, a playoff bye, and a lead against the defending World Champs, on the road in the 3rd quarter of the conference title game. They're the only Jets team I ever saw where I can honestly say I feel 100% certain they would have won the Super Bowl if they had gotten there that year.
