1977 New York Jets season

The 1977 New York Jets season was the 18th season for the team and the 8th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1976 under new head coach Walt Michaels and beginning the post-Joe Namath era. However, the Jets struggled and finished with a third consecutive 3–11 season.

1977 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Walt Michaels
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	none

They won a major off the field court decision. As per the memorandum of understanding signed in late 1961 by team original owner (as the New York Titans) Harry Wismer, Shea Stadium’s co-tenants, the New York Mets, would have exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. The Jets were, in most years, required to open the season with several road games, a problem made worse in 1969 and 1973 when the Mets had long playoff runs. Feeling that this arrangement was a disadvantage, the team announced in 1977 that they would play two home games a year during the month of September at the Giants’ new home in New Jersey, Giants Stadium. Litigation began between New York City and the Jets over the issue, and in the lawsuit’s settlement, the city agreed to allow the Jets to play two September home games a season at Shea beginning in 1978 for the remaining six years in the Jets' lease. In 1977, the Jets were to play one September game at Giants Stadium and an October 2 game at Shea. From 1967 through this season—a span of 11 seasons—the Jets did not play a home game at Shea Stadium in the month of September. As of 2017, the Jets are the first (and so far, only) team in NFL history to finish 3 straight seasons with only 3 wins. During the NFL's 16-game schedule from the 1978 season to the 2020 season, no team finished 3–13 three years in a row, and no team has yet to finish 3-14 three years in a row under the 17-game schedule used since the 2021 season.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1977 NFL Draft

1977 New York Jets draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Marvin Powell	OT	USC
2	33	Wesley Walker	WR	California
3	72	Tank Marshall	DT	Texas A&M
4	90	Scott Dierking	RB	Purdue
5	116	Perry Griggs	WR	Troy State
5	129	Gary Gregory	OT	Baylor
6	144	Joe Klecko *	DT	Temple
7	168	Charlie White	RB	Bethune-Cookman
7	171	Bob Grupp	P	Duke
7	195	Kevin Long	RB	South Carolina
8	200	Dan Alexander	OG	LSU
8	210	Ed Thompson	LB	Ohio State
9	227	Matt Robinson	QB	Georgia
10	256	John Hennessy	LB	Michigan
11	307	Dave Butterfield	DB	Nebraska
12	312	Phil Gargis	QB	Auburn
12	313	Dave Conrad	OT	Maryland
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1977 New York Jets staff

Front office Leon Hess – Owner Jim Kensil – President/CEO Al Ward – General manager Mike Holovak – Director of player personnel (until May 20, 1977) Mike Hickey – Director of player personnel (after May 21, 1977) Ernie Zampese – Scout Carroll Huntress – Scout Connie Nicholas – Personnel assistant Head coaches Walt Michaels – Head coach Offensive coaches John Idzik – Offensive coordinator Bob Ledbetter – Running backs Dan Henning – Receivers Bob Fry – Offensive line

Defensive coaches Dan Sekanovich – Defensive line Joe Gardi – Linebackers/special teams John Mazur – Defensive backs

Roster

1977 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Marty Domres 17 Matt Robinson 14 Richard Todd Running backs (RB) 25 Scott Dierking 21 Clark Gaines FB 42 Bruce Harper 33 Kevin Long FB 44 Tom Newton 30 Charlie White Wide receivers (WR) 88 Rich Caster 85 Wesley Walker Tight ends (TE) 83 Jerome Barkum 86 Bob Raba

Offensive linemen (OL) 60 Dan Alexander G 67 Darrell Austin T 71 Jeff Bleamer T 65 Joe Fields C -- Ken Helms T 79 Marvin Powell T 77 Garry Puetz G 66 Randy Rasmussen G 61 John Roman G Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Joe Klecko DT 68 Tank Marshall DT 76 Lawrence Pillers DE 74 Abdul Salaam DT

Linebackers (LB) 51 Greg Buttle 55 John Ebersole 63 John Hennessy 52 Mike Hennigan -- Jim Jerome 56 Larry Keller 53 Al Palewicz 57 Carl Russ Defensive backs (DB) 37 Billy Hardee CB 27 Ron Mabra 22 Burgess Owens FS 24 Artimus Parker SS 48 Ken Schroy 23 Shafer Suggs SS 38 Ed Taylor CB 39 Maurice Tyler Special teams  5 Pat Leahy K 15 Chuck Ramsey P

Reserve 77 Carl Barzilauskas DT (IR) 80 Shelton Diggs WR (IR) 45 Louie Giammona RB (IR) -- Gary Gregory T (IR) 82 David Knight WR (IR) 59 Bob Martin LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 18	at Houston Oilers	L 0–20	0–1	Astrodome	39,488
2	September 25	Baltimore Colts	L 12–20	0–2	Giants Stadium	43,439
3	October 2	New England Patriots	W 30–27	1–2	Shea Stadium	38,227
4	October 9	at Buffalo Bills	W 24–19	2–2	Rich Stadium	32,046
5	October 16	at Miami Dolphins	L 17–21	2–3	Miami Orange Bowl	43,446
6	October 23	Oakland Raiders	L 27–28	2–4	Shea Stadium	56,734
7	October 30	at New England Patriots	L 13–24	2–5	Schaefer Stadium	61,042
8	November 6	Miami Dolphins	L 10–14	2–6	Shea Stadium	51,582
9	November 13	Seattle Seahawks	L 0–17	2–7	Shea Stadium	42,923
10	November 20	at Baltimore Colts	L 12–33	2–8	Memorial Stadium	50,957
11	November 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–23	2–9	Shea Stadium	47,385
12	December 4	at New Orleans Saints	W 16–13	3–9	Louisiana Superdome	40,464
13	December 11	Buffalo Bills	L 10–14	3–10	Shea Stadium	31,929
14	December 18	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 0–27	3–11	Veterans Stadium	19,241
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Houston Oilers

See also: 1977 Houston Oilers season

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	0	0	0	0
Oilers	0	7	0	13	20

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

• Date: September 18
• Game time: 3:00 p.m.
• Game weather: dome
• Box Score

Game information

Second quarter HOU – Don Hardeman 1 yard run (Skip Butler kick) Fourth quarter HOU – Dan Pastorini 1 yard run (Skip Butler kick) HOU – Rob Carpenter 1 yard run (kick failed) Passing NYJ – Richard Todd 10/25, 115 yards, INT HOU – Dan Pastorini 20/32, 137 yards Rushing NYJ – Charlie White 13 att, 43 yards HOU – Don Hardeman 12 att, 55 yards, TD Receiving NYJ – David Knight 3 rec, 40 yards HOU – Ken Burrough 3 rec, 57 yards

Week 2 vs. Colts

See also: 1977 Baltimore Colts season

Week Two: Baltimore Colts (1–0) at New York Jets (0–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	7	7	6	0	20
Jets	0	3	0	9	12

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: September 25
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 43,439
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter BAL – Roosevelt Leaks 6-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 7–0. Drive: Second quarter BAL – Don McCauley 2-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 14–0. Drive: NYJ – Pat Leahy 25-yard field goal. Colts 14–3. Drive: Third quarter BAL – Don McCauley 1-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 21–3. Drive: Fourth quarter NYJ – Safety, David Lee ran out of end zone. Colts 21–5. NYJ – Charlie White 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Colts 21–12. Drive: Top passers BAL – Bert Jones – 9/15, 78 yards, INT NYJ – Richard Todd – 13/22, 140 yards, 2 INT Top rushers BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 26 rushes, 68 yards NYJ – Charlie White – 12 rushes, 36 yards, TD Top receivers BAL – Don McCauley – 5 receptions, 40 yards NYJ – Clark Gaines – 6 receptions, 47 yards

Week 3: vs. New England Patriots

See also: 1977 New England Patriots season

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

See also: 1977 Buffalo Bills season

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins

See also: 1977 Miami Dolphins season

Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders

See also: 1977 Oakland Raiders season

Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks

See also: 1977 Seattle Seahawks season

Week 11 vs. Steelers

See also: 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Week Eleven: Pittsburgh Steelers (6–4) at New York Jets (2–8)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	6	14	0	3	23
Jets	6	7	0	7	20

at Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York

• Date: November 27
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C)
• Game attendance: 47,385
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and Merlin Olsen
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter NYJ – Pat Leahy 33-yard field goal. Jets 3–0. Drive: PIT – John Stallworth 37-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (kick blocked). Steelers 6–3. Drive: NYJ – Pat Leahy 47-yard field goal. Tie 6–6. Drive: Second quarter PIT – Lynn Swann 5-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 13–6. Drive: NYJ – Scott Dierking 5-yard pass from Matt Robinson (Pat Leahy kick). Tie 13–13. Drive: PIT – Franco Harris 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 20–13. Drive: Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter PIT – Roy Gerela 37-yard field goal. Steelers 23–13. Drive: NYJ – Bruce Harper 4-yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick). Steelers 23–20. Drive: Top passers PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 10/28, 143 yards, 2 TD, INT NYJ – Matt Robinson – 7/19, 80 yards, TD, 3 INT Top rushers PIT – Franco Harris – 21 rushes, 83 yards, TD NYJ – Scott Dierking – 23 rushes, 107 yards Top receivers PIT – Lynn Swann – 4 receptions, 54 yards, TD NYJ – Scott Dierking – 3 receptions, 26 yards, TD

Week 12: at New Orleans Saints

See also: 1977 New Orleans Saints season

Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills

Joe Ferguson hit Bob Chandler with two touchdown passes as the Bills defeated the Jets 14-10 at Shea Stadium. Pat Leahy opened the scoring, early in the 2nd quarter with a 25-yd Field goal. Richard Todd connected with Wesley Walker to put the Jets ahead with less than two minutes remaining in the final quarter, but Ferguson moved the Bills 92 yards, tossing the winning touchdown with 40 seconds left.

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles

See also: 1977 Philadelphia Eagles season

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts(2)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	295	221	W1
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–4	313	197	W1
New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	4–4	7–5	278	217	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	191	300	L2
Buffalo Bills	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	160	313	L1

References

Bibliography

Ryczek, William J. (2009). Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL (revised ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-4126-6. Chastain, Bill (2010). 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-522-1.

External links

• 1977 statistics