1978 New York Jets season

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL team season 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

File:Craig James 1987.jpg

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

style="Template:Gridiron primary style;" width="7%"|Round	style="Template:Gridiron primary style;" width="7%"|Pick	style="Template:Gridiron primary style;" width="20%"|Player	style="Template:Gridiron primary style;" width="15%"|Position	style="Template:Gridiron primary style;" width="20%"|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

1978 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
Bob Nelson	Quarterback	Shippensburg

Regular season

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 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

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 0 6 7 7 20 • Jets 10 10 7 6 33 Date: September 3 Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 49,598 Game weather: ; wind Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 0 0 7 14 • Jets 14 21 10 0 45 Date: October 8 Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 44,545 Game weather: • Wind Referee: Dick Jorgensen Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 8

• Television Network: CBS
• Announcers: Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti and Sonny Jurgensen

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.

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 0 17 7 7 31 Broncos 14 14 0 0 28 Date: November 5 Location: Mile High Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 74,983 Game weather: ; wind Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 10 0 9 19 Jets 7 0 3 7 17 Date: November 19 Location: Shea Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: ; wind Referee: Pat Haggerty Television network: NBC Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

A personal foul call against Burgess Owens led to a Patriots go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. The Jets nearly came back to win the game, but Pat Leahy missed a 33 yard field goal to the right with 31 seconds remaining.

Awards and records

• Wesley Walker, NFL Leader in Receiving Yards, (1,169)

External links

• 1978 statistics