Jets might finally snap this miserable league-leading drought

Any time you hear an unfavorable statistic or anecdote about the NY Jets, your first reaction is disbelief. Not disbelief that the Jets are that bad. But disbelief that anyone is that bad. Your second reaction is a gradual realization of reality.

"Well... it is the Jets."

So when a fact, such as the Jets going all of 2025 without a single interception, comes up, it makes sense against all logic. When you count how many quarterbacks have taken a snap since the turn of the previous decade, it feels like 60 years' worth of history. But it somehow makes sense that it's only 15 years for the Jets.

And while things aren't exactly trending directly above our heads, the arrow might just be rising itself from the grave to point a degree or two in the right direction. And if everything plays out favorably and every domino falls where it needs to, the Jets might snap one of the ugliest droughts in football – or sports in general.

The Jets might be moving in the right direction – and people are taking note

There's a lot of work to be done within the walls of One Jets Drive before we all throw a parade. But with Darren Mougey guiding the reins, the roster is beginning to take shape a bit. In fact, some would even say the talent resembles a good football team.

When's the last time we saw one of those, Jets fans?

As I said, a lot has to go right. Pretty much everything, in fact. Even then, trying to climb back up the ladder from the bottom of the AFC is a daunting task. But with new/old quarterback Geno Smith back in Florham Park, a group of raw but talented skill-weapons, and a slowly emerging defensive unit, things look more 7-10 than they do 3-13.

And every football fan knows that 7-10, depending on how the margins play out, could easily be 8-9. Or, dare I say, 9-8? A winning record?

Before we get that far, it's important to note the many concerns about the 2026 team. The offense, while talented, is filled with question marks. We know what Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson bring to the table. But Omar Cooper Jr? Adonai Mitchell? Kenyon Sadiq? There's a lot of variance to play out there.

The defense does have veteran upgrades in the form of Demario Davis and Minkah Fitzpatrick, along with some promising bucks just learning to walk in the NFL, like rookies David Bailey and D'Angelo Ponds.

But those young bucks haven't proven a thing. And the rest of the defense, save for maybe Jamien Sherwood and Harrison Phillips, is one big question mark. The answer to that question may be a good one. But as of today, it's the complete unknown.

And the two most important jobs on a football team, head coach and quarterback, have huge boom-or-bust potential. We have 0 clue what Aaron Glenn truly is as a leading man yet. And Geno Smith can be an asset, but last season proved he can flat-out stink as well.

That said, things feel just a little better than they did last offseason. The offense has more talent, the defense has a real veteran influence, and the football world is slowly but surely becoming aware.

Take Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports, who recently ranked all eight last-place teams from 2025, in order of who's most likely to go from "worst to first" in their respective division. Normally, I would instinctively assume the Jets were number eight or seven. But Dajani had other thoughts.

"The offense is pretty solid when you look at the talent... The Jets also have a totally revamped defense... if Smith and the defense both step up, the Jets might be able to stay in the division hunt until late in the season..."

He ranked them fourth out of eight. And if you can stay in the division hunt until late in the season, you can find a lane into a wild-card spot, no matter how narrow, especially since a third wild-card team was added to each conference six years ago.

If the Jets did that, they would be breaking the longest-running playoff drought in all of football: 15 seasons. And actually, as most Jets fans know by now, it's the longest-running drought in all of North American professional sports.

Imagine that – the Jets in the playoffs. To really remember what that's like, you have to be at least of legal drinking age. To remember it vividly, you have to be at least 23 or 24. But it's becoming increasingly possible thanks to a much-needed facelift this offseason.

Still, it's going to take a lot. The Jets finished 25th in overall defense with the 26th-worst Pro Football Focus defensive grade. The offense finished 29th overall, with the 31st-worst PFF offensive grade. Geno Smith finished last season for the Raiders with 17 interceptions and a 58.2 PFF passing grade. And we're all still waiting to find out if Coach Glenn totally knows what he's doing.

But you can't deny the overall talent profile. You can't deny the clear path the front office wants to take. And maybe, just maybe, the Jets can play some football into late January.

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