1997 New York Jets season The 1997 New York Jets season began with the team trying to improve upon its league - worst and franchise - worst 1 – 15 record from 1996 . Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells , who replaced Rich Kotite , and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season , the Jets improved to 9 – 7 , but narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final game of the season . Offseason . For most of the end of the 1996 season , the Jets were courting Parcells to take over their football operations . This drew criticism from the team that employed Parcells at the time , the New England Patriots , who were in the middle of a push that eventually led to a loss in Super Bowl XXXI . Parcells made a now - infamous statement regarding the Patriots ' unwillingness to give him more of a say in football matters : " " If they want you to cook the dinner , at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries . " " Parcells eventually announced his resignation but was bound by the terms of his contract with the Patriots , which forbade him from coaching anywhere else until the contract expired . To temporarily resolve the situation the Jets hired Bill Belichick , Parcells ' top assistant , to be the coach and hired Parcells for an advisory role . The Patriots were unamused , and complained to the league . Eventually commissioner Paul Tagliabue brokered a deal with the two teams where Parcells would be able to coach the Jets and the Patriots would receive the Jets ' first round draft pick the next year . This allowed the Jets to avoid sending the number - one overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft , which they had earned from their 1 – 15 finish , to the Patriots ( which New England had initially demanded in order to allow Parcells to move to the Jets . In regards to that pick , two players were on the Jets ' radar . One was Ohio State offensive lineman Orlando Pace , who was coming out of school a year early . The other was Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning , who had graduated from school in three years but still had a year of eligibility left , yet was expected by many to come out for the draft . Manning announced he would return to Tennessee for his senior season , and instead of taking Pace with the # 1 pick the Jets traded it to the St . Louis Rams . The Jets instead drafted Virginia linebacker James Farrior . The new - look Jets erupted in their first game under Bill Parcells . Neil O ' Donnell threw three first - half touchdowns while rookie John Hall booted a 55 - yard field goal and later a 28 - yarder . Despite leading 27 – 3 at the half , Parcells forcefully reminded them , " They say you can ' t hold a lead . They say you blew six games last year where you were leading at the half . Let ' s see what you ' re made of . " The Jets responded with two more O ' Donnell touchdowns in the third quarter while shutting out the Seahawks . Warren Moon , making his Seattle debut , was limited to seven completions and a pick while backup John Friesz was only slightly better with ten completions . The Jets posted only their fifth win ( 41 – 3 final ) in their previous 40 games . On Sunday Night Football former Patriots coach Parcells met former Jets coach Pete Carroll at Foxboro Stadium with the Jets 1 – 1 following a 28 – 22 loss to Buffalo and the Patriots 2 – 0 . The pregame buildup was huge and the ensuing game turned into a grinder . Drew Bledsoe ' s touchdown to Ben Coates and a Curtis Martin score were answered by a two - yard O ' Donnell rushing score and a John Hall field goal . Bledsoe was picked off by Mo Lewis for a 43 - yard Jets touchdown . After Adam Vinatieri tied the game in the third Bledsoe found Lovett Purnell and a 24 – 17 Patriots lead . Despite being sacked seven times O ' Donnell tied the game on a 24 - yard score to Keyshawn Johnson , and after forcing a Patriots punt the Jets were in position to win in the final seconds , but Hall ' s field goal try was blocked by Mike Jones and the game went to overtime . The Patriots clawed down field and Vinatieri finished it on a 34 - yard field goal and a 27 – 24 Patriots win . The 1 – 2 Jets rebounded from the loss when they faced the 1 – 2 Raiders . Jeff George threw three first - half touchdowns ( marred by a missed PAT and missed two - point try ) and the Raiders led 22 – 10 at the half . But from there the Jets special teams surged to the fore ; John Hall booted two field goals and in the fourth Cole Ford ' s 28 - yard field goal try was blocked ; Ray Mickens ran the ball 72 yards for the winning touchdown and a 23 – 22 final . Entering Week Eight the AFC East race in 1997 had become a four - way fight with the Patriots entering at 5 – 1 , the Jets 5 – 2 , the Dolphins 4 – 2 , and the Bills 3 – 3 ; Miami ( vs . Baltimore ) and Buffalo ( vs . 0 – 6 Indianapolis ) would win their games this weekend to stay in the division hunt . In The Meadowlands the Jets scored first on a John Hall field goal , then the Patriots outscored the Jets 19 – 7 after sacking Neil O ' Donnell in the endzone and then getting a Vinatieri field goal and an eight - yard Ben Coates touchdown before Troy Brown caught a 23 - yarder . But from there the Patriots fell ; Neil O ' Donnell was benched and Glenn Foley led the Jets back ; Adrian Murrell ran in a five - yard score and later Foley hit Lorenzo Neal . The Jets snuffed out New England ' s long passes and finished up 24 – 19 entering their bye week . After losing two straight , falling to 8 – 6 , the Jets authored their most decisive win of the season as they limited the Bucs to 136 total yards and three turnovers . Trent Dilfer was picked off twice by Otis Smith and Smith ran back touchdowns for a combined 96 yards . Leon Johnson opened the third quarter by running back the kickoff 101 yards for another touchdown , and Adrian Murrell finished off the scoring on a seven - yarder in the third . The 31 – 0 score put the Jets within reach of a division title . With the 9 – 6 Dolphins hosting the 9 – 6 Patriots on Monday Night Football the 9 – 6 Jets had a chance to win the division for the first time since the days of the AFL as they faced the 8 – 7 Lions . The Jets clawed out front on ten first - quarter points , but the Lions led by Barry Sanders began storming back . Two Jason Hanson field goals in the second and third quarters were followed by a 25 - yard Sanders touchdown . Neil O ' Donnell had been rotated in and out under center during the season , but after going 21 – 35 for 202 yards and a pick Bill Parcells called for others to start throwing the ball . On a halfback option Leon Johnson threw for the endzone but was intercepted . Later rookie Ray Lucas rushed for 30 yards and completed three passes for 28 yards , but was intercepted in the endzone . This ended the Jets ' hopes of the postseason in a 13 – 10 Lions win . The game was marred by near - tragedy , however ; on a scramble for an Adrian Murrell fumble Lions linebacker Reggie Brown struck his head into the back of a falling player ; he suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed ; he lost consciousness but CPR saved his life ; he was taken by ambulance to the hospital where surgery prevented his paralysis from being permanent . The injury dominated Parcells ' postgame press conference .