# 1978 New York Jets season

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

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 |

### Undrafted free agents

1978 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Bob Nelson | Quarterback | Shippensburg |

## 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 34–37 (OT) | 8–7 | Cleveland Stadium | 36,881 |
| 16 | December 17 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–30 | 8–8 | Shea Stadium | 52,532 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • Jets | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 33 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Jets | 14 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 45 |

#### Week 8

* Television Network: CBS
* Announcers: Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti and Sonny Jurgensen
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 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Jets | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Broncos | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Patriots | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 19 |
| Jets | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
A personal foul call against Burgess Owens led to a Patriots go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. The Jets nearly came back to win the game, but Pat Leahy missed a 33 yard field goal to the right with 31 seconds remaining.

#### Week 16
### Standings

1978 AFC East standings :
| viewtalkedit | 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

* Wesley Walker, NFL Leader in Receiving Yards, (1,169)