<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Jets own one of longest playoff droughts, a seven-year itch

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterJan 4, 2018, 12:00 PM
            Close
              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
            Follow on X

          The New York Jets are climbing a list they don't want to be on. We're talking about playoff droughts.

          With three of the NFL's longest slumps ending this season, the Jets are now tied with the Chicago Bears for the third-longest drought in the league -- seven years and counting.

          The Cleveland Browns (14 years) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (nine) top the list.

          Fact of life in the NFL: You never want to be anywhere near the Browns on a list.

          This represents a dramatic turnaround for the Jets under owner Woody Johnson. In his first 11 years of ownership (2000 to 2010), they made six postseason appearances. In fact, they never went more than two years without making it.

          Now they have a seven-year itch. Their last trip was the 2010 season, which was so long ago that Siri still hadn't made her debut on iPhones.

          "I know that we have given (the fans) a lot more pain than glory recently," acting owner Christopher Johnson said Tuesday in his season-ending sitdown with reporters. "It's been a long time since we have had proper glory, and I think that they understand that I'm trying to set this team up for glory. And I think we'll get there. I really do."

          Things can change quickly in the NFL, evidenced by the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. They snapped playoff droughts of 17, 12 and nine years, respectively.

          Can the Jets beat the Browns, Bucs and Bears back to the big dance? It's hardly a guarantee, considering the quarterback situations.

          The Bucs and Bears have Jameis Winston and Mitchell Trubisky, both high draft picks and cornerstone players. The Browns have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, so they should be able to secure the top quarterback (unless they pull another Same 'Ol Browns move.)

          The Jets? All they have on the roster are Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, who have a combined starting record of 1-6 (that's all Petty, by the way).

          You may think the forecast is cloudy. Johnson sees blue skies.

          "There's so much to look forward to on this team with this core we have," he said. "We have a chance to build on that. We have some great draft picks. We have a lot of money to play with. We're going to be active in free agency. I think there's a lot of reason to believe that we're going to be a better team this coming year."