Jets fans revel in the history of the Super Bowl and the franchise’s chance to shine in 1963. The brash Joe Namath was able to take the underdog Jets to the AFL Championship game against the Raiders and then provide playoff tickets to the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Colts and their own star quarterback Johnny Unitas. The Jets 16-7 win showed that the AFL was capable of beating the NFL and endeared Joe Namath to Jets fans for decades to come.
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Namath’s legendary guarantee of victory has outlasted the memory of his struggles in the 1970s. It would not be until Namath was long gone that New York would return to the postseason. A defense led by Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau and quarterback Ken O’Brien brought back Jets playoff tickets to the Meadowlands. The fearsome twosome upfront would get to the quarterback for seasons to come, but the Jets could not get back to the Super Bowl. The last attempt came in 2006, but the season ended in an embarrassing wild card round loss to the New England Patriots.
This season the Patriots have suffered a crippling early season loss with Tom Brady being put on the injured list for the entire season. The timing gives the Jets, who picked up Brett Favre a couple of weeks before the preseason ended, their best shot at playoff tickets for a real run at the Super Bowl in years. Favre has a revamped offensive line that will let Thomas Jones run and give Favre time to find Laveraneus Coles and Jerricho Cotchery.
The regular season schedule is now infused with excitement and anticipation as the new offense and the stingy defense now have a shot at a title within the AFC East. Jets playoff tickets could be in the future for a division suddenly without a favorite and a season muddled with questions and hypothetical situations.