Hard as This May Be to Believe, the NY Jets Might Be in THE Lowest Point in the History of Their Garbage Franchise

Joe Toth. Shutterstock Images.

Some headlines are hyperbole. Some are intentionally provocative. Others are meant to be pure, shameless clickbait. I assure you that the one that brought you here is none of those things. I understand the bold claim being made here. 

I have a pretty good grasp on the pathetic history of the New York Jets. My lifespan covers most of it. And I've been paying attention. In fact, their track record of dismal failure has been an almost constant companion throughout my personal journey. Something that has helped sustain me in good times and in bad. 

And yet, for all the seasons captained by Rich Kotite (1-15 in 1996), Eric Mangini (4-12, 2007) and Adam Gase (2-14, 2020), just to name a few, it's very likely Aaron Glenn's 2025 will stand alone below all of them. At the bottom of an well drilled into the seabed of the Mariana's Trench. As Reags pointed out earlier, things that were bad are only getting worse:

So bad that Kurt Warner took the bold step of ripping them while he was sitting in the broadcast booth in London, calling their game:

Because neither he nor Rich Eisen could explain this sequence:

NY Times (paywall) -  There was one minute left when the Jets ran a trick play on fourth-and-1, lining up to punt only to directly snap it to running back Breece Hall. It worked. Teams don’t usually go for it on fourth down before halftime unless they are trying to score. Glenn called timeout … and then ran the ball again, a handoff to Hall. With 44 seconds left, Fields was sacked, so Glenn called timeout again. With 37 seconds left, Fields completed a pass to wide receiver Josh Reynolds for six yards, short of the first down. The ball was spotted at 27 seconds.

Tick, tick, it ticked away. They did nothing. With a few seconds left, [Garrett] Wilson walked off the field. The Jets, down 10-6, went into the locker room, many players with a confused look on their faces.

Wilson, a captain, went to his coach.

“I just didn’t know exactly what the plan was,” Wilson said. “And once I figured it out, I was disappointed.”

Glenn’s explanation, paraphrased: The Jets were getting the ball back, he wasn’t sure in the moment if the Jets had gotten a first down because, he said, one ref said yes, the other said no. It turns out they didn’t.

“I’m not about to sit there and try to get a play off, they get the ball back, give them a chance to kick a field goal,” Glenn said.

Here is the 2025 Jets season in one clip:

As we pointed out, -10 yards net passing thanks to nine sacks for 55 yards. A total of 82 yards of offense. Just 1.4 yards per play. On 3rd downs, 2-of-15. Impossible figures in a league specifically organized around offense and scoring points.

But it goes beyond their own failure and the ineptitude of their coaching. There's an old saying I happen to like that goes, "It's not enough that I succeed; others must also fail." Well the reverse is also true. You failure is made worse by others success. Don't think for one New York second the organization and their fans aren't making note of the fact that they've had a better record than the Patriots for the past two years, only to find themselves back in the familiar situation of looking up at them again; the third man in the back of the AFC East's Human Centipede. Watching their second year quarterback succeed where all the Jets recent attempts at finding a franchise QB have failed utterly.

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Which brings us to some of those recent quarterbacks. The Hall of Famer they signed who didn't work out, and the prospects they drafted whom they couldn't develop. Who all seem to be resurrecting their careers elsewhere:

--Aaron Rodgers: At the age of 42 and coming off the statistical worst season of his career, he's enjoying a Renaissance in Pittsburgh. His passer rating is 9th best in the league. He's 3rd in TD%. And he's led the Steelers to 4-1, which is as wins than the rest of their division has in combined. 

--Sam Darnold: After a Jets career filled with paranormal activities, Darnold is a legitimate contender for MVP this year. He's 3rd in passer rating. Leading the league in passing yards and yards per attempt, 5th in TDs and 7th in completion %. While directing the No. 5 offense in the league. 

--Geno Smith: While a huge dropoff from the other two, Smith didn't do the Jets emotional state any favors by leading the Raiders to their second win yesterday. Which feels like an impossible dream in New York right now. And while leads the league in interceptions, he's also Top 10 in passing yards. But more to the point went to consecutive Pro Bowls and won a Comeback Player of the Year for Seattle and has been in the league eight seasons after the Jets gave up on him. 

To be fair, Zach Wilson hasn't done much of anything since he landed in Miami this offseason. But the way the ground is giving way under that franchise, there's no guarantee he won't get his shot soon and add to the Jets miseries. 

Meanwhile, they just continue to do pioneering work in the field of finding new and ever more inventive ways to fail. Ways that even a veteran of this wretched plague of a franchise cannot comprehend. And the end is nowhere in sight.

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.