If the New York Jets beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, they will have overcome a bit of bad history.
New York Jets Looking For First Ever AFC Championship Game Win Against Pittsburgh Steelers
You can look at it in two ways: the Jets are one of the NFL’s least successful teams with multiple playoff runs in the post-merger era, and they’re one of the most successful playoff teams among losing post-merger squads. Among teams with sub-.500 records since 1970, only the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills have more playoff wins.
The difference, though, is that those franchises have been to Super Bowls.
The Jets’ only Super Bowl appearance was in Super Bowl III, the famous win over the Baltimore Colts that was guaranteed by Joe Namath, and that came before the merger. Since, the Jets are winless in AFC Championship Games, losing to the Miami Dolphins in 1982, the Denver Broncos in 1998, and the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 to compile an 0-3 record in those games.
Because the Jets were an inaugural AFL team, New York has no NFL championship history before the Super Bowl era, and has just a modest 2-3 record in conference championship games and Super Bowls. It’s not much, compared to what the other three NFL titans playing for Super Bowl berths this weekend have, but it’s something that guarantees the Jets get to keep playing games that rank among the most important in franchise history.
Check out Behind the Steel Curtain and Gang Green Nation for more on the game.
See More:
