1978 season of NFL team New York Jets
The 1978 New York Jets season was the nineteenth season for the franchise and the ninth in the National Football League . It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from each of the previous three seasons under head coach Walt Michaels . Following an opening-game upset over the Miami Dolphins at Shea Stadium, the Jets stayed in contention for most of the season before finishing with an 8–8 record, with Matt Robinson starting most of the season at quarterback.
Offseason [ edit ] This photo from 1985 shows the Jets’ uniform redesigned and adopted in 1978. Note the green helmet and modified shoulder/sleeve treatment. The Jets overhauled their uniforms and logos for the 1978 season, abandoning the jerseys they had worn since 1963 and the helmet and logo they’d used since 1965 in favor of a more modern look using the same kelly-green-and-white color scheme. The new helmets were solid green with white facemasks, and a stylized “JETS” wordmark in white on each side. The mark featured angular lettering and a silhouette of a modern jet airplane extending horizontally to the right from the top of the “J” above the “ETS”. The jerseys featured large TV numerals on the shoulders and two thick parallel stripes on the sleeves, while the pants had a single green stripe from hip to knee on each side.
NFL Draft [ edit ] Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team 1 4 Chris Ward Offensive Tackle Ohio State 2 31 Mark Merrill Linebacker Minnesota 3 61 Mickey Shuler Tight End Penn State 6 141 Bobby Jackson Cornerback Florida State
Undrafted free agents [ edit ] 1978 Undrafted Free Agents of note Player Position College Bob Nelson Quarterback Shippensburg
Personnel [ edit ] 1978 New York Jets staff Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
1978 New York Jets final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 Miami Dolphins W 33–20 1–0 Shea Stadium 49,598 2 September 10 at Buffalo Bills W 21–20 2–0 Rich Stadium 40,985 3 September 17 Seattle Seahawks L 17–24 2–1 Shea Stadium 46,911 4 September 24 at Washington Redskins L 3–23 2–2 R.F. Kennedy Stadium 54,729 5 October 1 Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–28 2–3 Shea Stadium 52,058 6 October 8 Buffalo Bills W 45–14 3–3 Shea Stadium 44,545 7 October 15 at Baltimore Colts W 33–10 4–3 Memorial Stadium 45,563 8 October 22 St. Louis Cardinals W 23–10 5–3 Shea Stadium 49,244 9 October 29 at New England Patriots L 21–55 5–4 Schaefer Stadium 60,585 10 November 5 at Denver Broncos W 31–28 6–4 Mile High Stadium 74,983 11 November 12 at Philadelphia Eagles L 9–17 6–5 Veterans Stadium 60,249 12 November 19 New England Patriots L 17–19 6–6 Shea Stadium 55,568 13 November 26 at Miami Dolphins W 24–13 7–6 Orange Bowl 49,255 14 December 3 Baltimore Colts W 24–16 8–6 Shea Stadium 50,248 15 December 10 at Cleveland Browns L 34–37 (OT) 8–7 Cleveland Stadium 36,881 16 December 17 Dallas Cowboys L 7–30 8–8 Shea Stadium 52,532 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 0 6 7 7 20 • Jets 10 10 7 6 33
Date: September 3Location: Shea Stadium , Flushing, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 49,598Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn) Scoring summary 1 NYJ Wesley Walker 47 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 7–0 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal Jets 10–0 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 22 yard field goal Jets 13–0 2 MIA Delvin Williams 58 yard run (kick failed)Jets 13–6 2 NYJ Mickey Shuler 1 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 20–6 3 NYJ Wesley Walker 43 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 27–6 3 MIA Nat Moore 1 yard pass from Don Strock (Garo Yepremian kick)Jets 27–13 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 46 yard field goal Jets 30–13 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal Jets 33–13 4 MIA Loaird McCreay 5 yard pass from Guy Benjamin (Garo Yepremian kick) Jets 33–20
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1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 0 0 7 14 • Jets 14 21 10 0 45
Date: October 8Location: Shea Stadium , Flushing, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 44,545Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
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Pat Leahy kicked three field goals and Scott Dierking scored a pair of touchdowns as the Jets are still in the hunt for a wild card berth. Leahy who entered the game with an NFL leading 55 points connected on kicks of 20, 38 and 45 yards, the last two in a 13-point third quarter that broke a 10-10 halftime tie. Dierking, who had only one pro touchdowns in his first two seasons, punched over from the 2-yard line and went in from the 11. For the day, Dierking gained 94 yards.
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Week 10 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 17 7 7 31 Broncos 14 14 0 0 28
Date: November 5Location: Mile High Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 74,983Game weather: 48 °F (8.9 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) Scoring summary Q1 DEN Keyworth 5 yard run (Turner kick)DEN 7–0 Q1 DEN Thompson 4 yard fumble return (Turner kick)DEN 14–0 Q2 NYJ Long 4 yard run (Leahy kick)DEN 14–7 Q2 DEN Moses 14 yard pass from Penrose (Turner kick)DEN 21–7 Q2 DEN Jackson 28 yard interception return (Turner kick)DEN 28–7 Q2 NYJ Gaffney 4 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick)DEN 28–14 Q2 NYJ Leahy 38 yard field goal DEN 28–17 Q3 NYJ Dierking 3 yard run (Leahy kick)DEN 28–24 Q4 NYJ Walker 75 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick)NYJ 31–28
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Standings [ edit ] Awards and records [ edit ] References [ edit ] External links [ edit ]
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Key personnel Division championships (4) League championships (1) Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
Formerly the New York Titans (1960–1962)