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The Jets shocked the world in 1968, Head Coach Weeb Ewbank’s sixth campaign with the organization, when following an 11-3 regular season, they overcame 17-point odds to defeat the NFL’s Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Perhaps the greatest upset in sports history, the Jets’ win over the Colts helped validate the scheduled 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
1969 AFL Playoff format change
The AFL changed it’s playoff format for its final season.
As opposed to previous years, where only the division winners qualified for the postseason, the top two teams in each division would be playoff bound in 1969. Under this format, the AFL East champion would play the second place team from the AFL West in the first round, and vice versa. The remaining teams would then battle for a berth in Super Bowl IV.
Game One: At Buffalo Bills
The Jets’ title defence began with a 33-19 triumph in western New York.
Gang Green kept its poise after blowing a 19-3 third quarter lead. With the contest tied at 19 in the fourth quarter, RB Matt Snell put the Jets ahead with an 11-yard touchdown burst. LB Paul Crane then sealed the win by returning an interception 23 yards to pay dirt. Snell (106 yards; 26 carries; TD) and Crane (2 Int) were awarded game balls for their efforts (Dave Anderson; New York Times; Sept. 15, 1969; p. 60).
QB Joe Namath (7-19; 157 yards; TD; 3 Int) had a mediocre game. His one big play was a 60-yard touchdown pass to WR Don Maynard in the third period.
This contest marked the professional debut of future Hall of Fame RB O.J. Simpson. The top selection in the 1969 AFL Draft, Simpson was held to 35 yards on 10 carries, though he scored his first touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Game Two: At Denver Broncos
Denver, which had defeated the Jets as 19-point underdogs in 1968, stunned Gang Green again, 21-19.
With the Jets trailing 13-21 late in regulation, RB Emerson Boozer scored from three yards away to cut the deficit to 21-19. However, Gang Green missed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, which would have tied the game.
The Broncos’ win came despite losing starting QB Steve Tensi to a knee injury in the second quarter (Anderson; Sept. 22, 1969; p. 43). Backup QB Pete Liske rallied the Broncos from a 13-0 deficit.
Here Comes..There Goes Floyd–Floyd Little (44) of the Denver Broncos avoids the tackle of Jet player Steve O’Neal (20) and continues on his way to the New York Jet 1-yard line where he was tripped up. Little returned a Jet kick for 56 yards during the second quarter to set up a Denver touchdown on the next play. Jet players in background are; John Dockery (43), Stewart Wayne (89) and Pete Perreault. The Broncos scored an upset 21-19 win over the Jets before a standing-room only crowd of 51,000 in Denver.
Liske’s solid performance (11-20; 138 yards; 2 TD; Int) was somewhat ironic because it came against his former team. The signal caller had appeared in two contests for the Jets in 1964 before Ewbank dealt him to Buffalo. Liske then played four seasons in the Canadian Football League before signing with Denver in 1969 (Anderson; Sept. 22, 1969; p. 43).
Game Three: At San Diego Chargers
The Chargers held off the Jets, 34-27, to drop Gang Green’s record to 1-2. It was the first time New York possessed a losing record at any point in a season since it lost it’s 1967 opener at Buffalo.
The Jets almost rallied from a 24-7 deficit. With 2:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, the visitors were down by only seven points, 34-27, and were faced with a fourth-and-five at the San Diego nine-yard line. There, however, Namath’s pass to RB Bill Mathis fell short, and the Chargers survived. Namath (29-51; 344 yards; 2 TD; 2 Int) had completed 16 of his previous 18 pass attempts before the fourth down incompletion (Anderson; Sept. 29, 1969; p. 57).
Game Four: At Boston Patriots
Gang Green got back to .500 by defeating the Patriots, 23-14.
New York’s running game was effective on the afternoon. Although Snell (39 yards; 12 carries) was sidelined after halftime with bruised ribs, Boozer (70 yards; 19 carries) and Mathis (51 yards; 13 carries) each performed well (Anderson; Oct. 6, 1969; p. 62).
Game Five: At Cincinnati Bengals
Behind a dominant afternoon from Boozer (129 yards; 15 carries), the Jets handled the Bengals, 21-7.
The 129 rushing yards marked a new career high for Boozer, who had undergone knee surgery in 1967. His previous best single-game rushing output, 117 yards, had come in a 38-28 win over Boston on Dec. 17, 1966.
After the game, Ewbank expressed content with the state of his team. The coach said, “Our record is the same as it was after five games a year ago. I think we’re ready to go now (Anderson; Oct. 13, 1969; p. 63).”
Game Six: Houston Oilers
On the Monday night following the New York Mets’ World Series victory, the Jets finally made their 1969 debut at Shea Stadium in a 26-17 win over the Oilers.
Namath (12-24; 306 yards; 2 TD; 3 Int) was inconsistent, but he managed a couple of huge plays in the second quarter to afford the Jets a 17-7 advantage. The reigning Super Bowl MVP followed up a 57-yard touchdown pass to Maynard with a 54-yard scoring strike to the future Hall of Fame wide receiver.
This contest commenced a franchise-record seven-game home stand for the Jets. The Jets had never played more than three straight home games previously, and they haven’t played more than four straight games at home in any subsequent season.
Game Seven: Boston Patriots
New York completed a head-to-head sweep of the winless Patriots, 23-17, but it wasn’t easy.
Boston, which entered the game with a 0-6 record, took a 17-10 lead into halftime, and the Jets were booed off the field (Anderson; Oct. 27, 1969; p. 59).
Gang Green responded after intermission, though, thanks mainly to Snell (109 yards; 23 carries; TD) and Boozer (67 yards; 15 carries; TD). The two running backs combined to rush for 109 yards in the fourth quarter (Anderson; Oct. 27, 1969; p. 59).
Game Eight: Miami Dolphins
In a frantic finish, the Jets clipped the Dolphins by 34-31.
The Jets used a pair of fortuitous plays in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. First, with New York at its own 22-yard line and down by 31-24, a Miami roughing-the-passer penalty on third-and-11 negated an incomplete pass by Namath (13-26; 233 yards; 3 TD; Int) and afforded the Jets an automatic first down. Two plays later, Namath found Maynard for the tying score (Anderson; Nov. 3, 1969; p. 65).
The Jets’ good fortune continued. Following a defensive stand, DT John Elliott blocked Larry Seiple’s punt to set up the winning 36-yard field goal from K Jim Turner. Regarding his block, Elliott said, “My hand happened to be in the right place, but the punter had fumbled the snap a little bit (Anderson; Nov. 3, 1969; p. 65).”
New York Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath running onto the field during halftime ceremonies honoring 1969 Super Bowl champs.
Game Nine: Buffalo Bills
The Jets improved to 7-2 with a 16-6 win against Buffalo.
Mistakes by O.J. Simpson hindered the Bills’ chances. An opening quarter touchdown was nullified because the running back was lined up incorrectly, and with the visitors trailing by only seven points in the fourth quarter, Simpson lost a fumble at midfield (Anderson; Nov. 10, 1969; p. 61).
Game 10: Kansas City Chiefs
In an unfortunate portent of things to come, the Chiefs forced five turnovers and defeated the Jets, 34-16.
The 18-point loss was the most lopsided setback for the Jets since Nov. 5, 1967, when the Chiefs handed them a 24-point, 42-18, loss in Kansas City. It was also Gang Green’s worst home loss since a 34-9 setback to San Diego on Oct. 23, 1965 (Anderson; Nov. 17, 1969; p. 64).
Game 11: Cincinnati Bengals
The Jets returned to their winning ways by crushing the Bengals, 40-7. WR George Sauer (5 receptions; 56 yards; 2 TD) and Maynard (8 receptions; 137 yards) starred in the triumph.
A major injury hampered the win. Maynard broke his foot in the third quarter, and he was lost for the remainder of the regular season (Anderson; Dec. 21, 1969; p. 1).
It was the second time in as many seasons where Maynard endured a crucial injury in a late-season affair against Cincinnati. The wide receiver suffered a nagging hamstring injury against the Bengals in week 13 of the 1968 season (Anderson; Dec. 9, 1968; p. 66).
Game 12: Oakland Raiders
Gang Green self-destructed in a 27-14 loss to Oakland.
With the game knotted at seven in the second quarter, Elliott committed a roughing-the-passer penalty to extend an Oakland drive that resulted in a touchdown. DB Mike Battle then fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set up another Raider touchdown (Anderson; Dec. 1, 1969; p. 65).
Game 13: At Houston Oilers
The visiting Jets defeated the Oilers, 34-26, to clinch their second consecutive AFL East title (Anderson; Dec. 7, 1969; p. 1). It was Gang Green’s last division title until 1998, when the Jets won the AFC East with a 12-4 record.
New York’s defense dominated Houston by inducing nine turnovers, a franchise record for takeaways in a single game. Previously, the Jets forced eight turnovers in a 48-14 win versus Boston on Oct. 27, 1968. Gang Green has enjoyed a pair of subsequent eight-takeaway affairs, most recently a 33-13 win versus the New England Patriots on Nov. 11, 1973. The Jets’ most recent seven-takeaway effort came in a 56-35 win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 28, 2008.
Game 14: At Miami Dolphins
New York’s regular season culminated with a 10-4 record following a 27-9 victory at the Orange Bowl.
The win didn’t come without a price, however. At a pregame breakfast, team orthopedist Dr. James A. Nicholas said, “The one guy we can’t afford to get hurt is [CB John] Dockery (Anderson; Dec. 15, 1969; p. 70).”
Go figure; the Jets won the meaningless game, but Dockery, who was tied for the team lead with five interceptions on the year, separated his right shoulder while unsuccessfully diving for an interception in the first quarter.
AFL Playoffs first round: Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City, which finished second to Oakland in the AFL West, crushed the Jets’ dreams for a second straight Super Bowl championship, 13-6.
The Jets’ offense proved inept in the fourth quarter. Down only 6-3 and set up with a first-and-goal at the one-yard line, New York was forced to settle for a seven-yard Turner field goal—the goal posts sat at the middle of the goal line in the front of the end zone until 1974—and a 6-6 tie. The Jets reentered the red zone on two occasions after Kansas City retook the lead, but they failed to score (Anderson; Dec. 21, 1969; p. 1).
In what turned out to be his final playoff game, Namath (14-40; 164 yards; 3 Int) struggled.
Maynard returned to the field, but he was held to a single 18-yard reception.
Aftermath
Unbeknownst at the time, the Kansas City loss sent the Jets into a downward spiral. New York wouldn’t attain either a winning record or a playoff berth again until 1981.
Either way, the merger was about to occur, and the Jets were going along for the ride.
