As New York Jets fans were once again forced to endure a miserable season by their own team and a Super Bowl appearance by the hated Patriots, they should take solace in the realization that things can change quickly in the NFL.
Super Bowl LII is set to be a nightmare for New York Jets fans. After watching their own team end the year with a 5-11 record, they now have to endure yet another Super Bowl featuring the hated New England Patriots.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Patriots are highly likely to beat the Philadelphia Eagles and backup quarterback Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII. Break out the extra beer now, Jets fans, this Super Bowl could be a rough one.
That said, Jets fans have no need to be reminded again of all the negatives. Rather than focus on the miserable present, let’s turn our attention to a potentially less miserable future.
Will the Jets’ current playoff drought (seven years and counting) end soon? Even more importantly, will this current generation of Jets fans ever get to see their team hoist the Lombardi Trophy?
While it may sound crazy, there’s no reason to think the Jets couldn’t win the Super Bowl within the next couple years. The team has been a mess lately, but things change very quickly in the NFL. Consider the following examples of NFL teams going from worst to first in one year.
Exhibit A: 1999 St. Louis Rams
Every football fan is familiar with the Greatest Show on Turf Rams and their heart-pounding victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Rewind the clock back just one season, however, and the Rams were an absolute mess. The 1998 Rams went 4-12. Their passing offense was abysmal, as Rams quarterbacks combined for a 12 TD/18 INT ratio in 1998.
How did the Rams go from worst to first in one year? Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner took the league by storm in 1999 (41 TD/13 INT/4,353 passing yards), and the rest was history.
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Exhibit B: 2001 New England Patriots
There is no need to dwell on the Patriots or their nauseating level of success.
Suffice to say, the Patriots were not always an NFL powerhouse. The 2000 Patriots posted a pitiful 5-11 record and finished last in the division.
Just one short year later, an injury forced Patriots starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe to the sidelines. Tom Brady took over. The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year, and a dynasty was born.
Exhibit C: 2018 New York Jets?
The moral of these stories is that any team can go from cellar dweller to Super Bowl champion. All that is needed is a franchise quarterback. Franchise quarterbacks transform even the worst offenses and bring the kind of credibility and respect that is needed to restore hope to floundering teams.
With Kirk Cousins poised to hit free agency, and a litany of attractive prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft, perhaps this could finally be the year that the Jets fix their perennial mess at quarterback.
Must Read: What the Jets can learn from Super Bowl teams
It’s highly unlikely that the Jets will play in Super Bowl LIII, or even make the playoffs for that matter. But for whatever it’s worth, history has shown that it isn’t impossible.