1978 New York Jets season
OwnerLeon Hess
Head coachWalt Michaels
Home fieldShea Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersWR Wesley Walker

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

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

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

Personnel

Staff

1978 New York Jets staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Dan Sekanovich – Defensive line
  • Joe Gardi – Linebackers/special teams
  • John Mazur – Defensive backs



Roster

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

Schedule

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 34–37OT 8–7 Cleveland Stadium 36,881
16 December 17 Dallas Cowboys L 7–30 8–8 Shea Stadium 52,532

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Dolphins 0 677 20
• Jets 10 1076 33
  • Date: September 3
  • Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 49,598
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C); wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
Scoring summary
1NYJWesley Walker 47 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 7–0
1NYJPat Leahy 36 yard field goalJets 10–0
2NYJPat Leahy 22 yard field goalJets 13–0
2MIADelvin Williams 58 yard run (kick failed)Jets 13–6
2NYJMickey Shuler 1 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 20–6
3NYJWesley Walker 43 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 27–6
3MIANat Moore 1 yard pass from Don Strock (Garo Yepremian kick)Jets 27–13
4NYJPat Leahy 46 yard field goalJets 30–13
4NYJPat Leahy 36 yard field goalJets 33–13
4MIALoaird McCreay 5 yard pass from Guy Benjamin (Garo Yepremian kick)Jets 33–20

[1]

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

1 234Total
Bills 7 007 14
• Jets 14 21100 45
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 44,545
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
Scoring summary
1NYJKevin Long 5 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 7–0
1NYJBurgess Owens 40 yard interception return (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 14–0
1BUFReuben Gant 16 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick)Jets 14–7
2NYJKevin Long 16 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 21–7
2NYJKevin Long 3 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 28–7
2NYJBruce Harper 82 yard punt return (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 35–7
3NYJDerrick Gaffney 18 yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 42–7
3NYJPat Leahy 38 yard field goalJets 45–7
4BUFBob Chandler 15 yard pass from Bill Munson (Tom Dempsey kick)Jets 45–14

[2]

Week 7

Week 8

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 9

Week 10

1 234Total
• Jets 0 1777 31
Broncos 14 1400 28
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Mile High Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 74,983
  • Game weather: 48 °F (8.9 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
Scoring summary
Q1DENKeyworth 5 yard run (Turner kick)DEN 7–0
Q1DENThompson 4 yard fumble return (Turner kick)DEN 14–0
Q2NYJLong 4 yard run (Leahy kick)DEN 14–7
Q2DENMoses 14 yard pass from Penrose (Turner kick)DEN 21–7
Q2DENJackson 28 yard interception return (Turner kick)DEN 28–7
Q2NYJGaffney 4 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick)DEN 28–14
Q2NYJLeahy 38 yard field goalDEN 28–17
Q3NYJDierking 3 yard run (Leahy kick)DEN 28–24
Q4NYJWalker 75 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick)NYJ 31–28

[3]

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
New England Patriots(2) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 358 286 L1
Miami Dolphins(4) 11 5 0 .688 5–3 8–4 372 254 W3
New York Jets 8 8 0 .500 6–2 7–5 359 364 L2
Buffalo Bills 5 11 0 .313 2–6 4–10 302 354 W1
Baltimore Colts 5 11 0 .313 1–7 3–9 240 421 L5

Awards and records

References


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