New York Jets winning at the wrong time not an outlier in NFL history
The New York Jets’ two late-season victories may affect their future.
For much of the 2020 NFL season, the New York Jets found themselves adding to their total in the loss column with the hope of eventually landing a franchise quarterback. Their ultimate goal was to land Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence with the idea that he would provide a dose of recognition to a franchise that lacked such traits.
However, consecutive victories over the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns effectively sealed their fate of losing out the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. They are not the first franchise that had several fans hoping they lose enough to land a game-changing college player.
Before the 1969 NFL Draft, now-infamous running back O.J. Simpson out of USC was expected to be the top player selected. For much of the 1968 season, the Philadelphia Eagles found themselves losing games consistently and had several fans believing that Simpson would be coming to Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, late-season victories derailed that dream and Buffalo won the honor of drafting Simpson. The Eagles did have the opportunity to draft Joe Greene but chose Leroy Keyes instead.
The New York Jets can still get better provided they succeed in the offseason.
Fans of the New York Jets don’t show their frustration by hurling snowballs at Santa Claus, instead, they wear brown paper bags. To avoid such a repeated fate is dependent on how the Jets choose to spend their salary cap while also hiring stability in the front office.
What currently has the Jets moving in the right direction is general manager Joe Douglas, who has a proven track record for finding talented players and establishing solid play. Now, it all comes down to finding the right coach and working together to ensure consistency of success. Given that Miami and Buffalo currently ride atop the division and New England isn’t technically going anywhere, it’s paramount that the Jets figure things out fast.
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They had a shot at Trevor Lawrence’ they lost it. But all hope is not lost either. There are solid young pieces still on this team. Furthermore, Rome wasn’t built in a day. For the Jets, it comes down to establishing their fundamentals. Whether or not they do that remains to be seen. For now, they joined history yet again for the wrong reason.