# 1974 New York Jets season

The 1974 New York Jets season was the fifteenth season for the team and the fifth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–10 record from 1973 under new head coach Charley Winner. After beginning the season 1–7, the Jets won six straight and finished with a record of 7–7. During the streak were home upsets of playoff-bound Miami and Buffalo.

## Offseason
### Draft

1974 New York Jets draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Carl Barzilauskas | Defensive tackle | Indiana | |
| 2 | 31 | Gordie Browne | Tackle | Boston College | |
| 3 | 58 | Godwin Turk | Linebacker | Southern | Played with Jets in 1975 |
| 3 | 74 | Roscoe Word | Defensive back | Jackson State | |
| 5 | 110 | Gary Baccus | Linebacker | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | 135 | Bill Wyman | Center | Texas | |
| 6 | 137 | Wayne Jones | Running back | Mississippi State | |
| 7 | 162 | Burney Veazey | Tight end | Ole Miss | |
| 8 | 187 | Greg Gantt | Punter | Alabama | |
| 8 | 192 | Larry Lightfoot | Running back | Livingston | |
| 8 | 197 | Ron Rydalch | Defensive tackle | Utah | |
| 9 | 214 | Robert Burns | Running back | Georgia | |
| 10 | 239 | Sam Baker | Guard | Georgia | |
| 11 | 266 | Eugene Bird | Defensive back | Southern Miss | |
| 11 | 267 | Bill Buckley | Wide receiver | Mississippi State | |
| 12 | 291 | John Ricca | Defensive end | Duke | |
| 13 | 318 | John Tate | Linebacker | Jackson State | |
| 14 | 343 | Greg Fountain | Guard | Mississippi State | |
| 15 | 370 | Willie Brister | Tight end | Southern | |
| 16 | 395 | Jazz Jackson | Running back | Western Kentucky | |
| 17 | 422 | Doug Lowrey | Guard | Arkansas State | |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 15 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 16–24 | 0–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 74,854 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | at Chicago Bears | W 23–21 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 50,213 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bills | L 12–16 | 1–2 | Rich Stadium | 76,978 | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | at Miami Dolphins | L 17–21 | 1–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 60,727 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | New England Patriots | L 0–24 | 1–4 | Shea Stadium | 57,825 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | Baltimore Colts | L 20–35 | 1–5 | Shea Stadium | 51,745 | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | Los Angeles Rams | L 13–20 | 1–6 | Shea Stadium | 56,110 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | Houston Oilers | L 22–27 | 1–7 | Shea Stadium | 47,218 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | at New York Giants | W 26–20 (OT) | 2–7 | Yale Bowl | 64,327 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | at New England Patriots | W 21–16 | 3–7 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,115 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | Miami Dolphins | W 17–14 | 4–7 | Shea Stadium | 57,162 | Recap |
| 12 | December 1 | San Diego Chargers | W 27–14 | 5–7 | Shea Stadium | 44,888 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | Buffalo Bills | W 20–10 | 6–7 | Shea Stadium | 61,091 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | at Baltimore Colts | W 45–38 | 7–7 | Memorial Stadium | 31,651 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 6–2 | 9–2 | 327 | 216 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 264 | 244 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 5–6 | 279 | 300 | W6 |
| New England Patriots | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 4–7 | 348 | 289 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–7 | 1–10 | 190 | 329 | L4 |

## Season summary
### Week 9 at Giants

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Jets | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
| Giants | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
at Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut
* Date: November 10, 1974
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 64,327
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
NYJ – David Knight 19-yard pass from Joe Namath (Pat Leahy kick). Jets 7–0. Drive:
NYG – Pete Gogolak 26-yard field goal. Jets 7–3. Drive:
Second quarter
NYG – Bob Tucker 2-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 10–7. Drive:
NYJ – Pat Leahy 34-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive:
NYG – Pete Gogolak 22-yard field goal. Giants 13–10. Drive:
Third quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal. Tie 13–13. Drive:
NYG – Bob Grim 12-yard pass from Craig Morton (Pete Gogolak kick). Giants 20–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
NYJ – Joe Namath 3-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Tie 20–20. Drive:
Overtime
NYJ – Emerson Boozer 5-yard pass from Joe Namath. Jets 26–20. Drive:
Top passers
NYJ – Joe Namath – 20/31, 236 yards, 2 TD
NYG – Craig Morton – 21/32, 237 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
NYJ – Robert Burns – 21 rushes, 101 yards
NYG – Joe Dawkins – 11 rushes, 49 yards
Top receivers
NYJ – Rich Caster – 3 receptions, 68 yards
NYG – Walker Gillette – 5 receptions, 83 yards :

## Awards and honors

* Joe Namath, NFL Comeback Player of the Year