1977 New York Jets season
OwnerLeon Hess
Head coachWalt Michaels
Home fieldShea Stadium
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlersnone

The 1977 New York Jets season was the 18th season for the team and the 8th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1976 under new head coach Walt Michaels and beginning the post-Joe Namath era. However, the Jets struggled and finished with a third consecutive 3–11 season.

They won a major off the field court decision. As per the memorandum of understanding signed in late 1961 by team original owner (as the New York Titans) Harry Wismer, Shea Stadium’s co-tenants, the New York Mets, would have exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. The Jets were, in most years, required to open the season with several road games, a problem made worse in 1969 and 1973 when the Mets had long playoff runs.[1][2] Feeling that this arrangement was a disadvantage, the team announced in 1977 that they would play two home games a year during the month of September at the Giants’ new home in New Jersey, Giants Stadium. Litigation began between New York City and the Jets over the issue, and in the lawsuit’s settlement, the city agreed to allow the Jets to play two September home games a season at Shea beginning in 1978 for the remaining six years in the Jets' lease. In 1977, the Jets were to play one September game at Giants Stadium and an October 2 game at Shea.[3] From 1967 through this season—a span of 11 seasons—the Jets did not play a home game at Shea Stadium in the month of September. As of 2017, the Jets are the first (and so far, only) team in NFL history to finish 3 straight seasons with only 3 wins. During the NFL's 16-game schedule from the 1978 season to the 2020 season, no team finished 3–13 three years in a row, and no team has yet to finish 3-14 three years in a row under the 17-game schedule used since the 2021 season.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1977 NFL Draft
1977 New York Jets draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Marvin Powell  OT USC
2 33 Wesley Walker  WR California
3 72 Tank Marshall  DT Texas A&M
4 90 Scott Dierking  RB Purdue
5 116 Perry Griggs  WR Troy State
5 129 Gary Gregory  OT Baylor
6 144 Joe Klecko *  DT Temple
7 168 Charlie White  RB Bethune-Cookman
7 171 Bob Grupp  P Duke
7 195 Kevin Long  RB South Carolina
8 200 Dan Alexander  OG LSU
8 210 Ed Thompson  LB Ohio State
9 227 Matt Robinson  QB Georgia
10 256 John Hennessy  LB Michigan
11 307 Dave Butterfield  DB Nebraska
12 312 Phil Gargis  QB Auburn
12 313 Dave Conrad  OT Maryland
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1977 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

1977 New York Jets final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 18 at Houston Oilers L 0–20 0–1 Astrodome 39,488
2 September 25 Baltimore Colts L 12–20 0–2 Giants Stadium 43,439
3 October 2 New England Patriots W 30–27 1–2 Shea Stadium 38,227
4 October 9 at Buffalo Bills W 24–19 2–2 Rich Stadium 32,046
5 October 16 at Miami Dolphins L 17–21 2–3 Miami Orange Bowl 43,446
6 October 23 Oakland Raiders L 27–28 2–4 Shea Stadium 56,734
7 October 30 at New England Patriots L 13–24 2–5 Schaefer Stadium 61,042
8 November 6 Miami Dolphins L 10–14 2–6 Shea Stadium 51,582
9 November 13 Seattle Seahawks L 0–17 2–7 Shea Stadium 42,923
10 November 20 at Baltimore Colts L 12–33 2–8 Memorial Stadium 50,957
11 November 27 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–23 2–9 Shea Stadium 47,385
12 December 4 at New Orleans Saints W 16–13 3–9 Louisiana Superdome 40,464
13 December 11 Buffalo Bills L 10–14 3–10 Shea Stadium 31,929
14 December 18 at Philadelphia Eagles L 0–27 3–11 Veterans Stadium 19,241
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Houston Oilers

See also: 1977 Houston Oilers season
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 0 000
Oilers 0 7 01320

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: September 18
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: dome
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 2 vs. Colts

See also: 1977 Baltimore Colts season
Week Two: Baltimore Colts (1–0) at New York Jets (0–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts 7 7 6020
Jets 0 3 0912

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: September 25
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 43,439
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 3: vs. New England Patriots

See also: 1977 New England Patriots season

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

See also: 1977 Buffalo Bills season

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins

See also: 1977 Miami Dolphins season

Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders

See also: 1977 Oakland Raiders season

Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks

See also: 1977 Seattle Seahawks season

Week 11 vs. Steelers

See also: 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Week Eleven: Pittsburgh Steelers (6–4) at New York Jets (2–8)
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 6 14 0323
Jets 6 7 0720

at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

Game information

Week 12: at New Orleans Saints

See also: 1977 New Orleans Saints season

Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills

Joe Ferguson hit Bob Chandler with two touchdown passes as the Bills defeated the Jets 14-10 at Shea Stadium. Pat Leahy opened the scoring, early in the 2nd quarter with a 25-yd Field goal. Richard Todd connected with Wesley Walker to put the Jets ahead with less than two minutes remaining in the final quarter, but Ferguson moved the Bills 92 yards, tossing the winning touchdown with 40 seconds left.

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles

See also: 1977 Philadelphia Eagles season

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts(2) 10 4 0 .714 6–2 9–3 295 221 W1
Miami Dolphins 10 4 0 .714 6–2 8–4 313 197 W1
New England Patriots 9 5 0 .643 4–4 7–5 278 217 L1
New York Jets 3 11 0 .214 2–6 2–10 191 300 L2
Buffalo Bills 3 11 0 .214 2–6 2–10 160 313 L1

References

  1. ^ Ryczek, pp. 158-159
  2. ^ Chastain, pp. 87–88
  3. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald; McGowen, Deane (May 27, 1977). "Court Accord Keeps Football Jets at Shea Stadium". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  4. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2014-Jul-05.

Bibliography

Ryczek, William J. (2009). Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL (revised ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-4126-6. Chastain, Bill (2010). 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-522-1.

External links

New York Jets
New York Jets seasons
1977 NFL season
Categories