1986 New York Jets season

1986 New York Jets season
Head Coach	Joe Walton
Home Field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	10–6
Place	2nd AFC East
Playoff Finish	Won AFC Wild Card 35–15 vs. Kansas City Chiefs Lost AFC Divisional 23–20 (2OT) at Cleveland Browns
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1985	1987

The 1986 New York Jets season was the 27th season for the team and the 17th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 11–5 record from 1985 and return to the playoffs under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 10–6, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs despite losing their last five games of the season. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round. The loss to the Browns is infamous in Jets history. Leading 20–10 in the 4th quarter, the Jets collapsed when Mark Gastineau hammered Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar seconds after he released a pass; Gastineau was flagged for roughing the passer and the Browns rallied to force overtime and win early in the game's second overtime.

Roster

Depth chart

Defensive Starters CB Jerry Holmes ⋅ CB Russell Carter ⋅ Offensive Starters WR Al Toon ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jim Sweeney Ted Banker Joe Fields Dan Alexander Reggie McElroy ⋅ ⋅ Guy Bingham ⋅ Gordon King TE Mickey Shuler Rocky Klever WR Wesley Walker ⋅ QB Ken O'Brien ⋅ RB Freeman McNeil Johnny Hector FB Tony Paige ⋅ Special Teams PK Pat Leahy P Dave Jennings KR Bobby Humphery PR Kurt Sohn

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	1986-09-07	at Buffalo Bills	W 28–24	Rich Stadium	79,951
2	1986-09-11	New England Patriots	L 20–6	The Meadowlands	72,422
3	1986-09-21	Miami Dolphins	W 51–45 (OT)	The Meadowlands	71,025
4	1986-09-28	at Indianapolis Colts	W 26–7	Hoosier Dome	56,075
5	1986-10-05	Buffalo Bills	W 14–13	The Meadowlands	69,504
6	1986-10-12	at New England Patriots	W 31–24	Sullivan Stadium	60,342
7	1986-10-20	Denver Broncos	W 22–10	The Meadowlands	73,759
8	1986-10-26	New Orleans Saints	W 28–23	The Meadowlands	44,246
9	1986-11-02	at Seattle Seahawks	W 38–7	Kingdome	62,497
10	1986-11-09	at Atlanta Falcons	W 28–14	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium	53,476
11	1986-11-16	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–16	The Meadowlands	65,149
12	1986-11-24	at Miami Dolphins	L 45–3	Miami Orange Bowl	70,206
13	1986-11-30	Los Angeles Rams	L 17–3	The Meadowlands	70,539
14	1986-12-07	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–10	Candlestick Park	58,091
15	1986-12-13	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 45–24	The Meadowlands	58,044
16	1986-12-21	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 52–21	Riverfront Stadium	51,619

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
WC	1986-12-28	Kansas City Chiefs	W 35–15	The Meadowlands	69,307
Div	1987-01-03	at Cleveland Browns	L 23–20 (2OT)	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,106

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
New England Patriots	11	5	0	.688	412	307	W-1
New York Jets	10	6	0	.625	364	386	L-5
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	430	405	L-1
Buffalo Bills	4	12	0	.250	287	348	L-3
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	229	400	W-3

External links

• 1986 statistics