1986 New York Jets season

1986 New York Jets season
Head coach	Joe Walton
Home field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Won AFC Wild Card 35–15 vs. Kansas City Chiefs Lost AFC Divisional 23–20 (2OT) at Cleveland Browns
Timeline
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The 1986 New York Jets season was the 27th season for the team and the 17th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 11–5 record from 1985 and return to the playoffs under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 10–6, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs despite losing their last five games of the season. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round. The loss to the Browns is infamous in Jets history. Leading 20–10 in the 4th quarter, the Jets collapsed when Mark Gastineau hammered Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar seconds after he released a pass; Gastineau was flagged for roughing the passer and the Browns rallied to force overtime and win early in the game's second overtime.

The Week 3 game against Miami was memorable as Ken O'Brien and Dolphins QB Dan Marino fought a wild shootout that culminated in the Jets winning 51-45 in overtime. Marino threw for 448 yards and six TD passes while O'Brien accumulated 479 yards, four TDs, and one INT for what would statistically be the best game of his career.

Roster

Depth chart

Defense CB Jerry Holmes ⋅ CB Russell Carter ⋅ Offense WR Al Toon ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jim Sweeney Ted Banker Joe Fields Dan Alexander Reggie McElroy ⋅ ⋅ Guy Bingham ⋅ Gordon King TE Mickey Shuler Rocky Klever WR Wesley Walker ⋅ QB Ken O'Brien ⋅ RB Freeman McNeil Johnny Hector FB Tony Paige ⋅ Special Teams PK Pat Leahy P Dave Jennings KR Bobby Humphery PR Kurt Sohn

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	1986-09-07	at Buffalo Bills	W 28–24	Rich Stadium	79,951
2	1986-09-11	New England Patriots	L 20–6	The Meadowlands	72,422
3	1986-09-21	Miami Dolphins	W 51–45 (OT)	The Meadowlands	71,025
4	1986-09-28	at Indianapolis Colts	W 26–7	Hoosier Dome	56,075
5	1986-10-05	Buffalo Bills	W 14–13	The Meadowlands	69,504
6	1986-10-12	at New England Patriots	W 31–24	Sullivan Stadium	60,342
7	1986-10-20	Denver Broncos	W 22–10	The Meadowlands	73,759
8	1986-10-26	New Orleans Saints	W 28–23	The Meadowlands	44,246
9	1986-11-02	at Seattle Seahawks	W 38–7	Kingdome	62,497
10	1986-11-09	at Atlanta Falcons	W 28–14	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium	53,476
11	1986-11-16	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–16	The Meadowlands	65,149
12	1986-11-24	at Miami Dolphins	L 45–3	Miami Orange Bowl	70,206
13	1986-11-30	Los Angeles Rams	L 17–3	The Meadowlands	70,539
14	1986-12-07	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–10	Candlestick Park	58,091
15	1986-12-13	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 45–24	The Meadowlands	58,044
16	1986-12-21	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 52–21	Riverfront Stadium	51,619

Game summaries

Week 1: at Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 7 7 0 14 28 Bills 7 3 0 14 24 at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Date: Sunday, September 7 Game time: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 56°F, wind 12 mph Pro-Football-Reference.com Game information First Quarter BUF - Greg Bell 2 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) - Bills 7-0 NYJ - Tony Paige 2 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) - Tied 7-7 Second Quarter NYJ - Al Toon 46 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) - Jets 14-7 BUF - Scott Norwood 19 yard field goal - Jets 14-10 Fourth Quarter BUF - Andre Reed 55 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) - Bills 17-14 NYJ - Johnny Hector 1 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) - Jets 21-17 NYJ - Wesley Walker 71 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) - Jets 28-17 BUF - Pete Metzelaars 4 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick) - Jets 28-24 Jets Ken O'Brien 18/25, 318 Yds, 2 TD Freeman McNeil 21 Rush, 72 Yds Al Toon 6 Rec, 119 Yds, TD Bills Jim Kelly 20/33, 292 Yds, 3 TD Greg Bell 17 Rush, 44 Yds Andre Reed 5 Rec, 95 Yds, TD

Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 OT Total Dolphins 7 14 17 7 0 45 • Jets 3 28 0 14 6 51 Date: September 21 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 69°F, wind 11 mph Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Jets Pat Leahy 32 yard field goal Jets 3-0 1 Dolphins James Pruitt 6 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Dolphins 7-3 2 Jets Johnny Hector 1 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 10-7 2 Jets Johnny Hector 8 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 17-7 2 Dolphins Dan Johnson 1 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Jets 17-14 2 Dolphins Mark Duper 13 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Dolphins 21-17 2 Jets Wesley Walker 65 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 24-21 2 Jets Wesley Walker 50 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 31-21 3 Dolphins Mark Duper 46 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Jets 31-28 3 Dolphins Fuad Reveiz 44 yard field goal Tie 31-31 3 Dolphins Bruce Hardy 1 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Dolphins 38-31 4 Jets Dennis Bligen 7 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Tie 38-38 4 Dolphins Mark Clayton 4 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Dolphins 45-38 4 Jets Wesley Walker 21 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Tie 45-45 OT Jets Wesley Walker 43 yard pass from Ken O'Brien Jets 51-45

Statistics

• Ken O'Brien 29/43, 479 Yds, 4 TD, INT
• Wesley Walker 6 Rec, 194 Yds, 4 TD
• Al Toon 7 Rec, 111 Yds

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
WC	1986-12-28	Kansas City Chiefs	W 35–15	The Meadowlands	69,307
Div	1987-01-03	at Cleveland Browns	L 23–20 (2OT)	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,106

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA
New England Patriots(3)	11	5	0	.688	7–1	8–4	412	307
New York Jets(4)	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	364	386
Miami Dolphins(5)	8	8	0	.500	5–3	6–6	430	405
Buffalo Bills	4	12	0	.250	1–7	3–11	287	348
Indianapolis Colts	3	13	0	.188	1–7	2–10	229	400

External links

• 1986 statistics