Rich CiminiDec 7, 2025, 06:44 PM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Jets head into the final four games of the season in an all too familiar position: no hope for the playoffs, mired in quarterback uncertainty.
Their playoff drought, almost old enough to drive, turned 15 years old Sunday, as the Jets were officially eliminated with their 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. It sealed what had become inevitable two months ago during their 0-7 start.
Once again, the Jets own sole possession of the longest active postseason slump in North America's men's sports leagues -- the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS. They've been sharing it for several months each year with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, currently at 14 years.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, making his third start for the demoted (and injured) Justin Fields, lasted only two series (six plays) because of a groin injury, forcing rookie third-stringer Brady Cook into his first NFL game. It was 21-0 at the time, and the former undrafted free agent threw two interceptions in a difficult debut.
Who starts next Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars is anybody's guess. Fields, who reported knee soreness last week in practice and was ruled out on Friday, could be an option, although Glenn clearly prefers Taylor.
"We've got to get him healthy," Glenn said. "The quarterback situation, we'll look at that going into next week. But, yeah, it's always tough when your starter goes down."
It has been that kind of year for the Jets.
At 3-10, they reached double-digit losses for the sixth straight year, tying them for the third-longest such streak in the Super Bowl era. The longest skids belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 12 (1983-1994) and the Las Vegas Raiders at seven (2003-2009).
"It's a yearly thing," running back Breece Hall said of the postseason skid. "It definitely starts to weigh on you. You see your peers and you see other guys that you know you're just as good as or better than, and they get to have a lot of fun."
Hall, who will be the Jets' most important free agent, added: "With AG, I see the vision and I see how guys are trying to turn it around. We just have to be better as a team and execute what the coaches are coaching us to do."
Center Joe Tippmann said, "It sucks. [We've missed the playoffs] ever since I've been here, so it's something that we are constantly trying to fight and overcome. It sucks being in that situation again this year."
Glenn became the sixth Jets coach to join the drought. It started with Rex Ryan (2011-2014), who passed it to Todd Bowles (2015-2018), who handed it to Adam Gase (2019-2020), who gave it to Robert Saleh (2021-2024), who was fired after five games last season. In came interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
Glenn was hired in January, vowing to change the fortunes of the franchise, but he got off to the worst start of any coach in Jets history. Since then, the Jets traded star defensive players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams and benched Fields, Glenn's handpicked quarterback.
"Get better, that's it. That's how I process it," Glenn said of the postseason slump. "That's the only thing that we can do is improve and get better. Because before you can start to consistently win ... you have to improve. You have to improve in all areas. That's including us as coaches."
Glenn blamed himself for the latest loss, claiming he didn't have the team ready to play. He said, "This one is on me." The Jets opened the game by allowing two long touchdown drives. Miami scored another touchdown after intercepting a Taylor throw. It was 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Jets generated only 207 total yards, much of it in garbage time. Cook (14-for-30, 163 yards), who didn't have any first-team reps in practice, was sacked six times. What irked Glenn the most was that the defense allowed 239 rushing yards.
"That's B.S.," he said. "You can't give up 240 yards rushing. It's that simple."
Glenn's biggest challenge in the future will be to solidify the quarterback position. Sixteen different quarterbacks have started at least one game during the 15-year drought. Cook could be No. 17.
Kicker Nick Folk, the last link to the Jets' last playoff team in 2010, acknowledged the fans' frustration, but he preached patience with Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.
"You can build a house on a bad foundation, but it's not going to stand very long," Folk said. "So, I think AG is trying to do the right thing and build a good foundation so that he can build something that's long lasting."
