I was at this game as well. Aside from the frustration over the fake spike, we also had Boomer Esiason throwing an absolutely idiotic interception that helped keep Miami in the game when we were on the cusp of blowing them out.
Brien makes the kick. It would've been one of the greatest wins in franchise history and the Jets would've had a avalanche of momentum going into Foxboro for the AFC Championship only a few weeks after the Pats beat the Jets badly here. 2004 was a fun season witha s***** ending.
O'Brien played behind an Oline that turned into a sieve with him being sacked time and again - not to mention Toon had similar issues (Toon retired at the age of 29 in 1992 as a result of suffering at least nine over his eight-year career). People forget that O'Brien posted numbers that meant when he retired he was the only Jets quarterback to have ever been the top ranked passer in a season - not even Namath managed that. I would have issues with multiple other picks but not too unhappy with O'Brien over Marino when you look at the supporting casts both had. He amassed over 25,000 yards in his 11-year career. In 1985, he was the highest rated quarterback in the NFL, finishing the season with a rating of 96.2. He also led the NFL with the lowest rate of interceptions in 1985, 1987, and 1988 - don't we hope we can soon say that about our current QB!! After an 11-5 record in 1985, O'Brien opened up in 1986 after ten games he was leading the NFL with a 111.1 rating (in fact he was the only NFL QB with a rating over 100). That was before the Oline and D suffered multiple injuries and the Jets lost the last 5. Back on topic Gastineau's late hit on Kosar with honourable mentions to either of Brien's missed kicks and other losses in that prevented progression to Superbowl (2010 not stopping Pittsburgh mentioned above, 2009 Greene hurting his ribs changing our game plan to run over the Colts after we were leading 17-13 and failed to score thereafter, 1998 choose a few of the turnovers Vs Broncos) and finally Vinnie's injury in 1999
I know players have their fans. Like Junc loving Sanchez. But never heard anyone favorably compare O'Brien to Marino. Marino's advantage were the better teams he played on. And most importantly having Shula running that franchise. Impossible to know how Marino would have done here with less talent an inferior org and head coaching. But imo he would have been great and much greater than O'Brien.
You and I have had our differences but Dan Marino would have been a Hall of Famer on any team. Most talented QB IMHO of them all. _
you guys are missing the boat.....the play HAS to be from the 98 AFCCG......its either the Byars fumble or the Jets not picking up the kickoff after Denver's first score. if you eliminate either of those plays, we win the superbowl. We would have beaten Atlanta ( again) by 25 points. If Byner doesnt fumble, we score a TD and that game is OVA
yea but the other two were in our own hands. Pick up the fucking kick off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can still feel the anger and disappointment from that game because that was our best team ever prolly ( here come the Namath people) That, more than any other year other than 69 was our year. The only team that could stop us was us. Anyone who lived through that year should have that as their worst Jet disappointment of all time.
yep......that my friend was the worst day of my life....My friend called me when the Jets went up 10-0. His father had recently passed away....he calls me in tears and says, " we're goin to the Superbowl, my dad is watching over us". I believed him. I will never, ever forget how I felt that day. worst day of my life.
as a matter of fact, I just ruined my own night now. what a fucking cunting mother fuck of a game that was. We would have won the god damn superbowl. jesus fuckin Christ.......in 83 I cried over that cunt AJ Duhe but 98 a part of my soul died...prolly a little bit of my asshole got ripped out too and my dick shrunk to an unmanageable size. Curtis ass fucked us also that day. The Gods hate us....fuck you all...good night
It is interesting how losing a game like that hurts way more than going 1-15 just 2 years earlier. Should be the other way around, but when you are that close to the SB (and likely winning it) it hurts.
it was such a weird game too. Curtis Martin, lowest fumbling rate of any RB with 1,500+ carries in league history, fumbles.... Alex Van Dyke never played EVER, managed to play a lot for some reason and have a fumble, Byers, long reliable career, fumbles, plus the kickoff debacle and the fact that Testaverde actually played very well most of the game while Elway didn't. The game made no sense
The Van Dyke fumble is the play I most remember being the change of momentum. It was almost like Steve Atwater rallied the defense after that. Everyone is always quick to say we would have smashed the Falcons-- I remember prepping for the Jets/Vikings Super Bowl starting in about mid-October. The way that season should have ended-- though most of the country was probably counting on Broncos/Vikings. The Falcons really had no business being there. In some alternate universe, Randall Cunningham and Vinny Testaverde got a Superbowl Faceoff to redeem their careers after wasting their talent on bad teams for forever.
We certainly had all star coaching talent in 1998 but I think the most talented team that we had was in 1986. If anyone could have stayed healthy we would have won a Subway SB against the Giants that year. We are talking about the team that curb stomped Don Shula's Dolphins for 51 pounts and 479 passing yards. Offense - Ken O'Brien, Freeman McNeil, Johnny Hector, Wesley Walker, Al Toon, Mickey Shuler, Tony Paige, Joe Fields, Jim Sweeney, Reggie McElroy, Dan Alexander, Ted Banker Defense - Marc Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, Charles Jackson, Lance Mehl, Kyle Clifton, Bob Crable, Lester Lyles, Russell Carter, Jerry Holmes Special teams - Pat Leahy, Dave Jennings, Kurt Sohn, Bobby Humphry The starters on this team were as talented as any we have ever had.
I don't really get how anyone could feel slighted by losing to the Steelers in '04. After watching us try to give the game away to San Diego the week before, including an Eric Barton channeling of Gastineau, which we only won because their kicker blew it---I just felt like the Jets were lucky to be in the game at all. The fact that it was actually a close game just made it fun to watch.
BINGO. The AFC Championship game loss to Denver was easily my biggest disappointment as a sports fan. That 98 team was simply magical and easily the best Jets team since Superbowl 3. In the case of all of the other heartbreaking playoff losses this franchise has suffered, there was no guarantee we would have gone on to win it all had we won any of those games. But, once Minnesota got upset by Atlanta, that AFC Championship game in Denver was essentially the Superbowl. There was no chance we were ever losing to Atlanta that year. None. Zero. They were a soft team with a particularly soft defense who we absolutely obliterated earlier in the year. Meanwhile, in 1982 and 2010, we would have likely been small underdogs against both Washington and Green Bay, respectively. And in 2009, we would have probably been fairly big underdogs against New Orleans. People like to write on this message board that we were technically closer to getting to the big game in 2010 (being one stop and one game winning drive away) than in any other year since 1969, and that may well be true. But regardless, we were closest to winning the whole fucking thing in 1998. As I wrote earlier - Elway to Mccaffrey
