1988 New York Jets season

The 1988 New York Jets season was the 29th season for the team and the 19th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 6–9 record from 1987 under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 8–7–1. Although for the second straight year they failed to qualify for the playoffs, they would play the spoiler, as a victory over their cross-town rival New York Giants in Week 16 kept the Giants out of the playoffs due to a series of tiebreakers. For the third time in his career, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions among quarterbacks. He had 7 interceptions in 424 passing attempts.

1988 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Joe Walton
Home field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	8–7–1
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	TE Mickey Shuler WR Al Toon FS Erik McMillan

A ticket for a September 1988 game between the Jets and the Cleveland Browns.

The Jets endured a major distraction when Mark Gastineau, the team's main pass rusher who appeared to be experiencing a career-renaissance, abruptly retired in midseason to tend to ailing actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Offseason

Draft

1988 New York Jets draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Dave Cadigan	OT	USC
2	37	Terry Williams	DB	Bethune-Cookman
3	63	Erik McMillan	DB	Missouri
3	74	James Hasty	DB	Washington State
5	119	Mike Withycombe	OG	Fresno State
6	146	Paul Frase	DE	Syracuse
7	172	Gary Patton	RB	Eastern Michigan
8	203	Keith Neubert	TE	Nebraska
9	230	Ralph Tamm	OG	West Chester
10	257	John Booty	DB	TCU
11	287	John Galvin	LB	Boston College
12	314	Albert Goss	DT	Jackson State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 New York Jets staff

	Front office Owner – Leon Hess President/General Manager – Jim Kensil Head coaches Head Coach – Joe Walton Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator?Receivers Coach – Rich Kotite Quarterbacks Coach - Zeke Bratkowski Running Backs Coach - Bobby Hammond Offensive Line Coach - Dan Radakovich			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line Coach = Wally Chambers Linebackers Coach - Jim Vechiarella Secondary - Mike Faulkiner Special teams coaches Special Teams Coach - Larry Pasquale Quality Control - Ray Callahan

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Roster

1988 New York Jets final roster

	Quarterbacks  7 Ken O'Brien 10 Pat Ryan Running backs 30 Nuu Faaola 34 Johnny Hector 24 Freeman McNeil 43 Roger Vick Wide receivers 87 Kurt Sohn 88 Al Toon 83 Jo-Jo Townsell 85 Wesley Walker Tight ends 81 Billy Griggs 86 Keith Neubert 82 Mickey Shuler		Offensive linemen 60 Dan Alexander G 63 Ted Banker G 66 Dave Cadigan T 64 Guy Bingham C 79 Mike Haight T 68 Reggie McElroy T 75 Adam Schreiber G 53 Jim Sweeney C 76 Mike Withycombe G Defensive linemen 97 Don Baldwin DT 78 Barry Bennett DE 91 Paul Frase DE 99 Mark Gastineau DE 94 Scott Mersereau DT		Linebackers 54 Troy Benson OLB 90 Robin Cole 59 Kyle Clifton MLB 51 John Galvin 55 Alex Gordon OLB 96 Steve Hammond 57 Kevin McArthur Defensive backs 42 John Booty FS/CB 35 Kerry Glenn CB 40 James Hasty CB 28 Carl Howard CB 48 Bobby Humphery CB 22 Erik McMillan FS 25 George Radachowsky SS 33 Terry Williams 38 Mike Zordich FS Special teams  5 Pat Leahy K  6 Joe Prokop P  83 Jo-Jo Townsell PR/KR		Reserve lists 35 Kerry Glenn CB (PUP) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Starters

POS	Name	GS
QB	7 Ken O'Brien	12
RB	24 Freeman McNeil	16
FB	43 Roger Vick	12
WR	88 Al Toon	15
WR	85 Wesley Walker	10
TE	82 Mickey Shuler	15
LT	61 Jeff Criswell	12
LG	79 Mike Haight	9
C	53 Jim Sweeney	16
RG	60 Dan Alexander	13
RT	68 Reggie McElroy	16

POS	Name	GS
LDE	99 Mark Gastineau	7
NT	94 Scott Mersereau	15
RDE	93 Marty Lyons	16
LOLB	55 Alex Gordon	13
LILB	54 Troy Benson	16
RILB	59 Kyle Clifton	15
ROLB	57 Kevin McArthur	16
LCB	48 Bobby Humphery	16
RCB	40 James Hasty	15
SS	36 Rich Miano	16
FS	22 Erik McMillan	13

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Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	at New England Patriots	L 28–3	Sullivan Stadium	44,027
2	September 11, 1988	at Cleveland Browns	W 23–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,434
3	September 18, 1988	Houston Oilers	W 45–3	The Meadowlands	64,483
4	September 25, 1988	at Detroit Lions	W 17–10	Pontiac Silverdome	29,250
5	October 2, 1988	Kansas City Chiefs	T 17–17 (OT)	The Meadowlands	66,110
6	October 9, 1988	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 36–19	Riverfront Stadium	57,482
7	October 17, 1988	Buffalo Bills	L 37–14	The Meadowlands	70,218
8	October 23, 1988	at Miami Dolphins	W 44–30	Joe Robbie Stadium	68,292
9	October 30, 1988	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–20	The Meadowlands	64,862
10	November 6, 1988	at Indianapolis Colts	L 38–14	Hoosier Dome	59,233
11	November 13, 1988	New England Patriots	L 14–13	The Meadowlands	48,358
12	November 20, 1988	at Buffalo Bills	L 9–6 (OT)	Rich Stadium	78,389
13	November 27, 1988	Miami Dolphins	W 38–34	The Meadowlands	52,752
14	December 4, 1988	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 38–34	Arrowhead Stadium	30,059
15	December 10, 1988	Indianapolis Colts	W 34–16	The Meadowlands	46,284
16	December 18, 1988	New York Giants	W 27–21	The Meadowlands	69,770

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 3 0 0 0 3 • Patriots 3 3 10 12 28 Date: September 4 Location: Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)

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Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 3 3 3 14 23 Browns 3 0 0 0 3 Date: September 11 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C) • wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn) Referee: Tom Dooley TV announcers (NBC): Mel Proctor and Al DeRogatis

Scoring summary 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 22 yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 CLE Matt Bahr 47 yard field goal Tie 3–3 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 29 yard field goal Jets 6–3 3 NYJ Pat Leahy 23 yard field goal Jets 9–3 4 NYJ Roger Vick 1 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 16–3 4 NYJ Roger Vick 3 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 23–3

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Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 3 0 0 0 3 • Jets 14 14 3 14 45 Date: September 18 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 67 °F (19.4 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee Television network: NBC

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Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 3 7 0 7 17 Lions 3 0 7 0 10 Date: September 25 Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan Game weather: indoors (dome) Referee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and Joe Namath

[6]

Week 5

1 2 3 4 OT Total Chiefs 0 0 3 14 0 17 Jets 3 7 0 7 0 17 Date: October 2 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) Referee: Ben Dreith Television network: NBC

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Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 9 3 7 0 19 • Bengals 6 13 7 0 26 Date: October 9 Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 51 °F (10.6 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) Referee: Dick Hantak TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

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Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 17 14 3 3 37 Jets 0 7 7 0 14 Date: October 17 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C), wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn) Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, and Dan Dierdorf

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Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 6 24 7 7 44 Dolphins 7 3 13 7 30 Date: October 23 Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

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Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 10 0 0 10 20 • Jets 0 10 7 7 24 Date: October 30 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 46 °F (7.8 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) Referee: Tom Dooley Television network: NBC

Scoring summary 1 PIT Gary Anderson 25 yard field goal Steelers 3–0 1 PIT Rodney Carter 24 yard pass from Bubby Brister (Gary Anderson kick) Steelers 10–0 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 41 yard field goal Steelers 10–3 2 NYJ Mickey Shuler 2 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Tie 10–10 3 NYJ Johnny Hector 2 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 17–10 4 PIT Gary Anderson 21 yard field goal Jets 17–13 4 NYJ Freeman McNeil 5 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 24–13 4 PIT Earnest Jackson 17 yard run (Gary Anderson kick) Jets 24–20

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Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 14 0 0 14 • Colts 7 3 21 7 38 Date: November 6 Location: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: indoors (dome)

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Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 0 7 7 14 Jets 0 3 3 7 13 Date: November 13 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 18 miles per hour (29 km/h; 16 kn)

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Week 12

1 2 3 4 OT Total Jets 0 3 0 3 0 6 • Bills 0 0 3 3 3 9 Date: November 20 Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 78,389 Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C) • wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)

Scoring summary 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 23 yard field goal Jets 3–0 3 BUF Scott Norwood 25 yard field goal Tie 3–3 4 BUF Scott Norwood 26 yard field goal Bills 6–3 4 NYJ Pat Leahy 40 yard field goal Tie 6–6 OT BUF Scott Norwood 30 yard field goal Bills 9–6

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Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 7 20 0 34 • Jets 7 17 0 14 38 Date: November 27 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) Referee: Jerry Seeman TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

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Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 10 10 7 7 34 • Chiefs 14 7 0 17 38 Date: December 4 Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)

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Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 7 3 0 16 • Jets 10 0 21 3 34 Date: December 10 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 12:30 p.m. Game weather: 31 °F (−0.6 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

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Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 7 7 7 21 • Jets 10 3 7 7 27 Date: December 18 Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 25 °F (−3.9 °C), wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw

Scoring summary 1 NYJ Pat Leahy 41 yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 NYJ Mickey Shuler 5 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 10–0 2 NYJ Pat Leahy 20 yard field goal Jets 13–0 2 NYG Stephen Baker 5 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick) Jets 13–7 3 NYJ Freeman McNeil 6 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 20–7 3 NYG Stephen Baker 9 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick) Jets 20–14 4 NYG Lionel Manuel 9 yard pass from Phil Simms (Paul McFadden kick) Giants 21–20 4 :37 NYJ Al Toon 5 yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 27–21

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Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills^(2)	12	4	0	.750	7–1	10–2	329	237	L1
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	354	315	W1
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	250	284	L1
New York Jets	8	7	1	.531	3–5	6–7–1	372	354	W2
Miami Dolphins	6	10	0	.375	0–8	3–9	319	380	L1

External links

• 1988 New York Jets at Pro-Football-Reference.com

References

2. 1988 New York Jets roster at Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
7. Pro-Football-Reference.com
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. Pro-Football-Reference.com
11. Pro-Football-Reference.com
12. Pro-Football-Reference.com
13. Pro-Football-Reference.com
14. Pro-Football-Reference.com
15. Pro-Football-Reference.com
16. Pro-Football-Reference.com
17. Pro-Football-Reference.com
18. Pro-Football-Reference.com