New York Jets vs. New England Patriots

The AFC East has never existed without the Jets and the Patriots being a part of it. The New York Jets and New England Patriots have always been in the same division and have played twice a year since their inaugural seasons in 1960.

History of Jets vs. Patriots Rivalry

The Pats currently have a stranglehold on the rivalry, but the Jets were the better team in this rivalry during the AFL years. New York used to be the Titans from 1960-1962 before becoming the NY Jets. There have been a lot of personnel that have been involved with both of these teams, which has made this a marquee matchup since the ‘60s. There are not many cities that have a heated rivalry like Boston and New York do.

Head to Head Analysis of Jets vs. Patriots

The Pats and Gang Green have faced each other 119 times over the years, and the Patriots lead the all-time series with a record of 65-54-1. The one tie of this series came in 1966, with Joe Namath leading the Jets to a comeback draw. One of the most notable games of this rivalry was when Mo Lewis injured Drew Bledsoe on a hit in 2001. Bledsoe was seriously injured, so Tom Brady took over at quarterback despite being a relative unknown at the time.

There have been some interesting coaching moves and matchups within this rivalry, too. Head Coach Bill Parcells left the Patriots in 1997 to go coach for the Jets until he decided to resign, and his assistant resigned shortly after to go coach the Patriots. That assistant was Bill Belichick, who is now a household name based on the success he’s had with the Patriots.

In 2006, one of Belichick’s assistants left the Patriots to become a head coach with the Jets. His name was Eric Mangini, and it was under him that the famous SpyGate incident took place, further escalating tension between these two clubs. Currently, the Patriots are on a six-game win streak against the Jets.

A Glance at Postseason Success in Jets vs. Panthers

The Jets only have a few playoff statistics better than the Patriots, and one of those was during the AFL years when they won a championship in 1968. Other than that, the Patriots have a much better resumè, especially since the Brady-Belichick Era started in 2001. The Pats have won the AFC East a whopping 20 times, as opposed to the Jets who have only managed that feat twice.

New England also has 11 Super Bowl appearances and has won the Lombardi Trophy 6 times. Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Jets do not have a single Super Bowl appearance. They have met each other 3 times in the playoffs, with the Patriots winning two of those. The most recent playoffs victory went to the Jets in 2011.

New England and New York are quite different when it comes to their quarterbacks. The Patriots will be looking towards the future with Tom Brady aging by the minute, but the Jets believe they have found their QB for the future in Sam Darnold. This has been a relatively lopsided rivalry since 2000 for any of the AFC East rivals of the Patriots, so everyone is ready to see what this division will look like when Tom Brady is finally gone. It will interesting to see how everything shakes out and if any other team can make a run at what has been the most one-sided division in football for nearly two decades.