1978 New York Jets season

1978 season of NFL team New York Jets August 2023 March 2026 New York Jets 1978 8–8 3rd AFC East Walt Michaels Leon Hess Shea Stadium Did not qualify WR Wesley Walker Jets seasons 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 11 games and going 6–5 at quarterback. Offseason thumb|300px|This photo from 1985 shows the Jets’ uniform redesigned and adopted in 1978. Note the green helmet and modified shoulder/sleeve treatment. 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 1978 NFL draft 1978 New York Jets 1 4 Chris Ward Offensive tackle Ohio State yes 2 31 Mark Merrill Linebacker Minnesota yes 3 61 Mickey Shuler Tight end Penn State yes 4 88 Dodie Donnell Running back Nebraska no 5 113 Randy Sidler Linebacker Penn State no 6 141 Bobby Jackson Cornerback Florida State yes 6 143 Gregg Robinson Defensive tackle Dartmouth yes 7 169 Levi Armstrong Defensive back UCLA no 7 170 Jim Earley Running back Michigan State yes 8 197 Derrick Gaffney Wide Receiver Florida yes 8 203 Mike Mock Linebacker Texas Tech yes 8 213 Roy Eppes Safety Clemson no 9 225 Reggie Grant Cornerback Oregon yes 9 227 Neil Hutton Cornerback Penn State no 10 254 Louis Richardson Defensive end Florida State no 11 281 Pat Ryan Quarterback Tennessee yes 12 311 Alan Williams Punter Florida no no no Undrafted free agents + 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJerry AndrewlavagePunterColgateMario BenimeoDefensive tackleMontclair StateDon CovinCornerbackTrenton StateMatt CumberworthGuardLouisvilleDon FennerDefensive tackleC.W. PostJim HarrellWide receiverOhio StateBobby JonesWide receiverNick LoweryKickerDartmouthWalt MajewskiCenterWisconsin–River FallsBob NelsonQuarterbackShippensburgRich PennellaPunterLouisvilleTerry RamseyLinebackerConnecticutBruce StephensWide receiverColumbiaChuck WhiteWide receiverMaryland Personnel Staff 1978 New York Jets Leon Hess – Owner Jim Kensil – President/CEO Mike Hickey – Director of player personnel Jim Royer – Pro personnel coordinator Ernie Zampese – Scout Carroll Huntress – Scout Connie Nicholas – Personnel assistant Walt Michaels – Head coach John Idzik – Offensive coordinator Bob Ledbetter – Running backs Dan Henning – Receivers Bob Fry – Offensive line Dan Sekanovich – Defensive line Joe Gardi – Linebackers/special teams John Mazur – Defensive backs Roster 1978 New York Jets 17 Matt Robinson American football  4 Pat Ryan American football y 25 Scott Dierking 21 Clark Gaines 42 Bruce Harper 33 Kevin Long running back 44 Tom Newton 20 Darnell Powell 80 Kevin Bell American football y 81 Derrick Gaffney y 86 Bobby Jones wide receiver y 85 Wesley Walker 83 Jerome Barkum 88 Mark Iwanowski y 82 Mickey Shuler y 60 Dan Alexander offensive lineman G 67 Darrell Austin G 65 Joe Fields C 78 John Gibney center y C 79 Marvin Powell T 66 Randy Rasmussen American football, born 1945 G 61 John Roman T 70 Stan Waldemore G/T 72 Chris Ward American football y T 73 Joe Klecko DE 71 Joe Moreino y DE 77 Joe Pellegrini defensive tackle NT 76 Lawrence Pillers DE 64 Gregg Robinson y DE 74 Abdul Salaam American football NT 63 John Hennessy American football ILB 52 Mike Hennigan American football ILB 56 Larry Keller OLB 59 Bob Martin American football OLB 58 Mark Merrill y ILB 50 Mike Mock y OLB 49 Reggie Grant y CB 40 Bobby Jackson cornerback y CB 37 Tim Moresco SS 22 Burgess Owens FS 48 Ken Schroy FS 23 Shafer Suggs SS 38 Ed Taylor American football CB  5 Pat Leahy American football K 15 Chuck Ramsey P 51 Greg Buttle LB IR 47 Jim Earley y RB IR -- Gary Evans offensive lineman y G IR -- Neil Hutton y S Left Squad 69 Greg Murphy defensive end DE IR 86 Bob Raba TE IR 34 Larry Riley American football CB IR 54 Randy Sidler y LB IR 87 Bruce Stephens y WR IR 14 Richard Todd American football QB IR 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 PatriotsL 17–19 6–6 Shea Stadium 55,568 13 November 26 at Miami DolphinsW 24–13 7–6 Orange Bowl 49,255 14 December 3 Baltimore ColtsW 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 Dolphins 0 6 7 7 Jets 10 10 7 6 September 3 Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York 1:00 p.m. 49,598 72 °F °C 1; wind 7 mph km/h knots yes 1 NYJ Wesley Walker 47 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 7–0 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal Jets 10–0 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 22 yard field goal Jets 13–0 2 MIA Delvin Williams 58 yard run (kick failed) Jets 13–6 2 NYJ Mickey Shuler 1 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 20–6 3 NYJ Wesley Walker 43 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 27–6 3 MIA Nat Moore 1 yard pass from Don Strock (Garo Yepremian kick) Jets 27–13 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 46 yard field goal Jets 30–13 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 36 yard field goal Jets 33–13 4 MIA Loaird McCreay 5 yard pass from Guy Benjamin (Garo Yepremian kick) Jets 33–20 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 2 June 2015 Week 3 June 2015 Week 4 June 2015 Week 5 June 2015 Week 6 Bills 7 0 0 7 Jets 14 21 10 0 October 8 Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 44,545 50 °F °C • Wind 15 mph km/h knots Dick Jorgensen yes 1 NYJ Kevin Long 5 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 7–0 1 NYJ Burgess Owens 40 yard interception return (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 14–0 1 BUF Reuben Gant 16 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick) Jets 14–7 2 NYJ Kevin Long 16 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 21–7 2 NYJ Kevin Long 3 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 28–7 2 NYJ Bruce Harper 82 yard punt return (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 35–7 3 NYJ Derrick Gaffney 18 yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 42–7 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 38 yard field goal Jets 45–7 4 BUF Bob Chandler 15 yard pass from Bill Munson (Tom Dempsey kick) Jets 45–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 7 June 2015 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 9 June 2015 Week 10 Jets 0 17 7 7 Broncos 14 14 0 0 November 5 Mile High Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 74,983 48 °F °C 1; wind 10 mph km/h knots yes Q1 DEN Keyworth 5 yard run (Turner kick) DEN 7–0 Q1 DEN Thompson 4 yard fumble return (Turner kick) DEN 14–0 Q2 NYJ Long 4 yard run (Leahy kick) DEN 14–7 Q2 DEN Moses 14 yard pass from Penrose (Turner kick) DEN 21–7 Q2 DEN Jackson 28 yard interception return (Turner kick) DEN 28–7 Q2 NYJ Gaffney 4 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick) DEN 28–14 Q2 NYJ Leahy 38 yard field goal DEN 28–17 Q3 NYJ Dierking 3 yard run (Leahy kick) DEN 28–24 Q4 NYJ Walker 75 yard pass from Robinson (Leahy kick) NYJ 31–28 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Jun-27. Week 11 June 2015 Week 12 Patriots 0 10 0 9 Jets 7 0 3 7 November 19 Shea Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 49 °F °C 1; wind 14 mph km/h knots Pat Haggerty NBC y 1 NYJ Kevin Long 1 yard rush (Pat Leahy kick) NYJ 7-0 2 NWE David Posey 47 yard field goal NYJ 7-3 2 NWE Horace Ivory 1 yard rush (David Posey kick) NWE 10-7 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 45 yard field goal tie 10-10 4 NWE Horace Ivory 11 yard rush (kick failed) NWE 16-10 4 NYJ Wesley Walker 56 yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick) NYJ 17-16 4 NWE David Posey 24 yard field goal NWE 19-17 y Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-Jan-5. Lowitt Bruce Lady Luck finishes game with Pats https://books.google.com/books?id=feApAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Dick+Creed%22&pg=PA13&article_id=2619,2784139 5 January 2025 Lewiston Evening Journal AP Sports 20 November 1978 25 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 13 June 2015 Week 14 June 2015 Week 15 June 2015 Week 16 June 2015 Standings Awards and records Wesley Walker, NFL Leader in Receiving Yards, (1,169) References External links 1978 statistics Category:New York Jets seasons New York Jets New York Jets season Category:1970s in Queens