1976 New York Jets season

1976 New York Jets season
Head coach	Lou Holtz
Owner	Leon Hess
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1976 New York Jets season was the 17th season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz. The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the departure of Holtz before the end of the season, prompted John Facenda to say about the Jets during the NFL Films highlight film for that season "Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it's over".

The only teams that the Jets defeated in 1976 were the 2–12 Buffalo Bills (twice) and the 0–14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jets were 0–9 vs. teams with a winning record.

The 1976 season was also the twelfth and final year with the Jets for quarterback Joe Namath.^[1]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	Sep 12, 1976	Cleveland Browns	L 38–17	Cleveland Stadium	67,496
2	Sep 19, 1976	Denver Broncos	L 46–3	Mile High Stadium	62,669
3	Sep 29, 1976	Miami Dolphins	L 16–0	Miami Orange Bowl	49,754
4	Oct 3, 1976	San Francisco 49ers	L 17–6	Candlestick Park	42,961
5	Oct 10, 1976	Buffalo Bills	W 17–14	Shea Stadium	59,110
6	Oct 18, 1976	New England Patriots	L 41–7	Schaefer Stadium	50,883
7	Oct 24, 1976	Baltimore Colts	L 20–0	Shea Stadium	59,576
8	Oct 31, 1976	Buffalo Bills	W 19–14	Rich Stadium	41,285
9	Nov 7, 1976	Miami Dolphins	L 27–7	Shea Stadium	53,344
10	Nov 14, 1976	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–0	Shea Stadium	46,426
11	Nov 21, 1976	New England Patriots	L 38–24	Shea Stadium	49,983
12	Nov 28, 1976	Baltimore Colts	L 33–16	Memorial Stadium	44,023
13	Dec 5, 1976	Washington Redskins	L 37–16	Shea Stadium	46,638
14	Dec 12, 1976	Cincinnati Bengals	L 42–3	Shea Stadium	31,067

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts^(2)	11	3	0	.786	7–1	11–1	376	236	W1
New England Patriots^(4)	11	3	0	.786	6–2	10–2	246	171	W6
Miami Dolphins	6	8	0	.429	5–3	6–6	263	264	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–9	169	383	L4
Buffalo Bills	2	12	0	.143	0–8	2–10	245	363	L10

In popular culture

• The television series, Barney Miller, referenced the game between the Buccaneers playing at the Jets, in the 3rd season episode "The Recluse", in which Yemana had tickets to the Jets/Tampa Bay game. When asked "Why?", his response, "They were on sale". The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 0–14 the same season.

External links

• 1976 statistics

References

1. Namath would play one final season with the 1977 L.A. Rams