In 98 we were chasing our first division title since the merger, this year we are chasing a wildcard, but the situations are eerily similar in so many respects.
In 98 we closed out the season on a 6 Game winning streak, and all but the last one was needed to win the division with 11 Wins, the 12th Win on the final weekend verses the 9-7 Patriots was gravy, 11 was the magic number we needed to clinch and it took a long winning streak to close out the season to get there.
Also weeks 15 & 16 gave us Miami and Buffalo back-to-back, and both were challenging us for the division title. Lose either one of those games and the embarrassing streak of no division titles since the merger would have continued. We had to beat our nemesis, Dan Marino (the original Tom Brady'esque thorn in our sides), in Miami on a Sunday Night, then, six days later, go into Buffalo and knock off the 10-6 Bills too, another team that had owned us for the better part of the decade prior to 1998, not unlike the Patriots.
Fast forward to 2015 and we need to get to 11 WINS to make the playoffs, you know it, I know it and everybody knows it, even Todd Bowles admitted this week that we have to WIN OUT, so we need a similar 6 Game winning streak to close out the season, identical to the streak that closed out the 98 season.
AND TO GET THERE, once again we have to go through two of our arch/hated division rivals to get there, first Tom Brady and the Patriots (standing in for Dan Marino and the Dolphins), then its off to Buffalo in what will most likely be another must win game if we get by the Patriots. So once again we have to close with a 6 Game winning streak and go thru two hated division rivals to achieve our goal and book our reservation for the tournament (provided KC and Pitt don't win out).
Oh and both teams had/have well traveled veteran QB's who are having career years in their first seasons with the Jets.
In 98 we closed out the season on a 6 Game winning streak, and all but the last one was needed to win the division with 11 Wins, the 12th Win on the final weekend verses the 9-7 Patriots was gravy, 11 was the magic number we needed to clinch and it took a long winning streak to close out the season to get there.
Also weeks 15 & 16 gave us Miami and Buffalo back-to-back, and both were challenging us for the division title. Lose either one of those games and the embarrassing streak of no division titles since the merger would have continued. We had to beat our nemesis, Dan Marino (the original Tom Brady'esque thorn in our sides), in Miami on a Sunday Night, then, six days later, go into Buffalo and knock off the 10-6 Bills too, another team that had owned us for the better part of the decade prior to 1998, not unlike the Patriots.
Fast forward to 2015 and we need to get to 11 WINS to make the playoffs, you know it, I know it and everybody knows it, even Todd Bowles admitted this week that we have to WIN OUT, so we need a similar 6 Game winning streak to close out the season, identical to the streak that closed out the 98 season.
AND TO GET THERE, once again we have to go through two of our arch/hated division rivals to get there, first Tom Brady and the Patriots (standing in for Dan Marino and the Dolphins), then its off to Buffalo in what will most likely be another must win game if we get by the Patriots. So once again we have to close with a 6 Game winning streak and go thru two hated division rivals to achieve our goal and book our reservation for the tournament (provided KC and Pitt don't win out).
Oh and both teams had/have well traveled veteran QB's who are having career years in their first seasons with the Jets.
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