The 2021 season was the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

' 52nd season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, their 62nd overall, their third under general manager Joe Douglas and their first under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Robert Saleh Robert Saleh (born January 31, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A defensive coach for much of his 20-year coaching career, Saleh has served as an assistant co ...

. The Jets improved on their 2–14 record from the previous season. Despite this, they were eliminated from playoff contention for the eleventh consecutive season in Week 14. The Jets missed the playoffs for the eleventh straight season, tying a record set between 1970–1980.

Roster changes

Free agents

Unrestricted

Restricted

Exclusive Rights

Signings

Releases

Draft

Staff

* Pass Game Specialist Greg Knapp was slated to be the team's pass game specialist, but he died on July 22 due to vehicular manslaughter.

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Carolina Panthers

Former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, traded to Carolina prior to the season, led the Panthers to an early lead over his former team, scoring two touchdowns including a 57-yard pass to former Jets teammate

Robby Anderson Robbie Anderson (born May 9, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple. Anderson was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent i ...

. Two late touchdown passes by Jets rookie quarterback

Zach Wilson Zachary Kapono Wilson (born August 3, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU, where he was a two-time bowl game MVP, and was selected second over ...

were not enough for New York to come back and win. For the third straight year, the Jets started the season 0–1. Tackle Mekhi Becton also suffered a knee injury during the game, and would later be put on injured reserve after opting for surgery.

Week 2: vs. New England Patriots

In a battle between rookie quarterbacks, Zach Wilson threw four interceptions to the Patriots defense while Patriots quarterback

Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at University of Alabama, Alabama, where he set the Nationa ...

had a quietly efficient performance, completing over 70% of his passes. With their 11th straight loss to the Patriots, the Jets fell to 0–2.

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 4: vs. Tennessee Titans

Despite a slow start, Wilson passed for two touchdowns and led the Jets offense to a go-ahead field goal in overtime. The Titans missed a potential game-tying field goal on the second drive of overtime, allowing New York to win its first game of the season.

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

NFL London games

Week 7: at New England Patriots

Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

With the upset win, the Jets matched their 2-win total from the previous year. Quarterback Mike White, whom made his first career start in place of an injured

, became the first quarterback since

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

to throw for 400+ yards in their first career start, and the first Jets quarterback to throw 400+ yards since

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the Hei ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Week 9: at Indianapolis Colts

Despite the loss, the Jets were given the minor comfort of participating in a game that made a

scorigami In sports, a scorigami (a portmanteau of '' score'' and ''origami'') is a scoring combination that has never happened before in a sport or league's history. The term was originated by sportswriter Jon Bois for National Football League scores and i ...

— a 45–30 game had never happened before in NFL history.

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 12: at Houston Texans

Week 13: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Jets dropped to 0–12 all time against the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 15: at Miami Dolphins

Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 17: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 18: at Buffalo Bills

For the second straight season, the Jets failed to win a divisional game.

Standings

Division

Conference

References

External links

* {{2021 NFL season by team

New York Jets seasons New York Jets season 21st century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex