1992 New York Jets season

1992 New York Jets season
Head coach	Bruce Coslet
Owner	Leon Hess
Home field	The Meadowlands
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1992 New York Jets season was the 33rd season for the team and the 23rd in the National Football League. The Jets were looking to improve on their 8–8 record under head coach Bruce Coslet in 1991 and also make a second consecutive trip to the AFC Playoffs. However, it was not to be.

The Jets' problems began in the offseason when veteran quarterback Ken O'Brien announced he was holding out of training camp to get a new contract. O'Brien's holdout continued into the season and Coslet named second-year backup Browning Nagle as the team's starter. Nagle did not have an effective year, only winning three of his thirteen starts. He was eventually replaced by O'Brien late in the year, but was pressed back into action after the veteran suffered a season-ending injury. The Jets didn't win a game until Week 5 against the New England Patriots and only won three more times the rest of the year to finish with a 4–12 record. Two of those wins came against division rivals, the eventual AFC Champion Buffalo Bills and the AFC East winner and conference runner up Miami Dolphins.

In addition to O'Brien's injury, the Jets saw career-ending injuries claim two of their star players and a season-ending injury befall another. In Week 2 defensive end Jeff Lageman, who had been a defensive star for the Jets during their 1991 playoff push, went down with a season-ending injury. Then, in a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos, star receiver Al Toon suffered his ninth career concussion and was forced to retire immediately after eight seasons in the NFL. Finally, in Week 13 against Kansas City, defensive end Dennis Byrd broke his C-5 vertebra in his neck; while going to try to sack Chiefs' quarterback Dave Krieg Byrd ran headfirst into teammate Scott Mersereau to cause the injury. The Jets wore a decal on their helmets for the rest of the season with Byrd's #90 surrounding an ichthys and have not issued #90 since; Byrd has since regained the ability to walk. With Byrd's injury still fresh in their minds the Jets went to Buffalo for their Week 14 matchup with the Bills and defeated them for their fourth and last win of the season.

After the season, Jets star running back Freeman McNeil announced his retirement. At the time of his retirement he was the all-time leading rusher in Jets history, but he has since been surpassed by Curtis Martin.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
15	New York Jets	Johnny Mitchell	Tight End	Nebraska

Personnel

Staff

1992 New York Jets staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Leon Hess President – Steve Gutman Vice President/General Manager – Dick Steinberg Director of Player Personnel – Dick Haley Director of Pro Personnel – Jim Royer Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – Pat Kirwan Head coaches Head Coach – Bruce Coslet Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Walt Harris Running Backs – Kippy Brown Receivers – Chip Myers Offensive Line – Larry Beightol Offensive Assistant/Tight Ends – Paul Alexander			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Pete Carroll Defensive Line – Greg Robinson Linebackers – Foge Fazio Defensive Assistant/Defensive Backs – Ed Donatell Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Al Roberts Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Greg Mackrides

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 6, 1992	at Atlanta Falcons	L 20–17	Georgia Dome	65,585
2	September 13, 1992	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 27–10	Three Rivers Stadium	56,050
3	September 20, 1992	San Francisco 49ers	L 31–14	The Meadowlands	71,020
4	September 27, 1992	at Los Angeles Rams	L 18–10	Anaheim Stadium	42,005
5	October 4, 1992	New England Patriots	W 30–21	The Meadowlands	60,180
6	October 11, 1992	at Indianapolis Colts	L 6–3	Hoosier Dome	48,393
7	Bye
8	October 26, 1992	Buffalo Bills	L 24–20	The Meadowlands	68,181
9	November 1, 1992	Miami Dolphins	W 26–14	The Meadowlands	69,313
10	November 8, 1992	at Denver Broncos	L 27–16	Mile High Stadium	74,678
11	November 15, 1992	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–14	The Meadowlands	60,196
12	November 22, 1992	at New England Patriots	L 24–3	Foxboro Stadium	27,642
13	November 29, 1992	Kansas City Chiefs	L 23–7	The Meadowlands	57,375
14	December 6, 1992	at Buffalo Bills	W 24–17	Rich Stadium	75,876
15	December 13, 1992	Indianapolis Colts	L 10–6	The Meadowlands	33,684
16	December 20, 1992	at Miami Dolphins	L 19–17	Joe Robbie Stadium	68,275
17	December 26, 1992	New Orleans Saints	L 20–0	The Meadowlands	45,614

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Miami Dolphins	11	5	0	.688	5–3	9–3	340	281	W3
^(4) Buffalo Bills	11	5	0	.688	5–3	7–5	381	283	L1
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–7	216	302	W5
New York Jets	4	12	0	.250	3–5	4–8	220	315	L3
New England Patriots	2	14	0	.125	2–6	2–10	205	363	L5

External links

• 1992 statistics

References