1996 New York Jets season

1996 New York Jets season
Head Coach	Rich Kotite
Home Field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	1–15
Place	5th AFC East
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1995	1997

The 1996 New York Jets season began with the team trying to improve upon its league-worst 3–13 record from 1995. However, this season proved even more calamitous as they finished 1–15, which is the worst record in franchise history. This led to the resignation of head coach Rich Kotite after the season ended.

Offseason

The Jets cut quarterback Boomer Esiason after he failed to replicate the success he enjoyed with the Cincinnati Bengals. They signed Neil O'Donnell, who had just led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl. The Jets received the first pick in the NFL draft in April and drafted wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson out of the University of Southern California. The Jets also signed offensive tackles Jumbo Elliott and David Williams and receivers Jeff Graham and Webster Slaughter. The Jets spent $70 million in the offseason on free-agent and rookie contracts.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	at Denver Broncos	L 31–6	Mile High Stadium	70,595
2	September 8, 1996	Indianapolis Colts	L 21–7	The Meadowlands	63,534
3	September 15, 1996	at Miami Dolphins	L 36–27	Pro Player Stadium	68,137
4	September 22, 1996	New York Giants	L 13–6	The Meadowlands	58,339
5	September 29, 1996	at Washington Redskins	L 31–16	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,068
6	October 6, 1996	Oakland Raiders	L 34–13	The Meadowlands	63,611
7	October 13, 1996	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 21–17	Alltel Stadium	65,699
8	October 20, 1996	Buffalo Bills	L 25–22	The Meadowlands	49,775
9	October 27, 1996	at Arizona Cardinals	W 31–21	Sun Devil Stadium	28,088
10	Bye
11	November 10, 1996	New England Patriots	L 31–27	The Meadowlands	61,843
12	November 17, 1996	at Indianapolis Colts	L 34–29	RCA Dome	48,322
13	November 24, 1996	at Buffalo Bills	L 35–10	Rich Stadium	60,854
14	December 1, 1996	Houston Oilers	L 35–10	The Meadowlands	21,731
15	December 8, 1996	at New England Patriots	L 34–10	Foxboro Stadium	54,621
16	December 14, 1996	Philadelphia Eagles	L 21–20	The Meadowlands	29,176
17	December 22, 1996	Miami Dolphins	L 31–28	The Meadowlands	49,933

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
New England Patriots	11	5	0	.688	418	313
Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	.625	319	266
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	317	334
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	339	325
New York Jets	1	15	0	.063	279	454

Season

O'Donnell was the starter for the first six games of the season, but they went 0–6 under him. After he suffered an injury during pregame warmups Kotite benched O'Donnell in favor of longtime Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich, but he didn't fare much better. They lost to Jacksonville and Buffalo, before the now lowly 0–8 Jets beat former Jets QB Boomer Esiason and his new team, the Arizona Cardinals (although Esiason didn't play for the game for Arizona), in Sun Devil Stadium. It was the Jets' only win of the 1996 year. They finished the year with the worst record in the NFL at 1–15.

External links

• 1996 statistics