The 1988 New York Jets season was the 29th season for the team and the 19th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 6–9 record from 1987 under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 8–7–1. Although for the second straight year they failed to qualify for the playoffs, they would play the spoiler, as a victory over their cross-town rival New York Giants in week 16 kept the Giants out of the playoffs due to a series of tiebreakers. For the third time in his career, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions among quarterbacks. He had 7 interceptions in 424 passing attempts.
The Jets endured a major distraction when Mark Gastineau, the team's main pass rusher who appeared to be experiencing a career-renaissance, abruptly retired in midseason to tend to ailing actress Brigitte Nielsen.
Offseason
Draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1988 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegePhil AlfieriDefensive endOregonKelly AverittTackle/GuardTennessee TechGreg CalcagnoQuarterbackSanta ClaraHarold CollinsWide receiverUTEPByron DixonCornerback/SafetyHoly CrossKeith FerrellLinebackerMorehead StateRicky FlowersWide receiverJackson StateBlair FowlerDefensive tackleUTEPJohn GarrettCenterSyracuseLeon HallDefensive endEast CarolinaBruce HatfieldLinebackerTennessee TechDave IngallsCenterMaineGreg JohnsLinebackerPenn StateMatt KemperGuard/TackleMiami (OH)Brad LambertCornerback/SafetyKansas StateEric LewisWide receiverNorth CarolinaDarryl PearsonWide receiverAlabama StateRichard PetitbonLinebackerMarylandEdwin RossSafetyAlabama StateTom SchultingWide receiverIowa StateRussell SheffieldDefensive endBaylorMike SwansonDefensive TackleTempleDarryl WrightPunterMaryland
Personnel
Roster
Starters
POSNameGSQB 7 Ken O'Brien 12RB 24 Freeman McNeil 16FB 43 Roger Vick 12 WR 88 Al Toon 15WR 85 Wesley Walker 10TE 82 Mickey Shuler 15LT 61 Jeff Criswell 12LG 79 Mike Haight 9C 53 Jim Sweeney 16RG 60 Dan Alexander 13RT 68 Reggie McElroy 16
POSNameGSLDE99 Mark Gastineau 7NT 94 Scott Mersereau 15RDE 93 Marty Lyons 16LOLB 55 Alex Gordon 13LILB 54 Troy Benson 16RILB 59 Kyle Clifton 15 ROLB 57 Kevin McArthur 16LCB 48 Bobby Humphery 16RCB 40 James Hasty 15SS 36 Rich Miano 16FS 22 Erik McMillan 13 1988 New York Jets roster at Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at New England Patriots L 3–28 0–1 Sullivan Stadium 44,027 2 September 11 at Cleveland Browns W 23–3 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,434 3 September 18 Houston Oilers W 45–3 2–1 Giants Stadium 64,483 4 September 25 at Detroit Lions W 17–10 3–1 Pontiac Silverdome 29,250 5 October 2 Kansas City Chiefs T 17–17 (OT) 3–1–1 Giants Stadium 66,110 6 October 9 at Cincinnati Bengals L 19–36 3–2–1 Riverfront Stadium 57,482 7 October 17 Buffalo Bills L 14–37 3–3–1 Giants Stadium 70,218 8 October 23 at Miami Dolphins W 44–30 4–3–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 68,292 9 October 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–20 5–3–1 Giants Stadium 64,862 10 November 6 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–38 5–4–1 Hoosier Dome 59,233 11 November 13 New England Patriots L 13–14 5–5–1 Giants Stadium 48,358 12 November 20 at Buffalo Bills L 6–9 (OT) 5–6–1 Rich Stadium 78,389 13 November 27 Miami Dolphins W 38–34 6–6–1 Giants Stadium 52,752 14 December 4 at Kansas City Chiefs L 34–38 6–7–1 Arrowhead Stadium 30,059 15 December 10 Indianapolis Colts W 34–16 7–7–1 Giants Stadium 46,284 16 December 18 New York Giants W 27–21 8–7–1 Giants Stadium 69,770 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 2
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 3
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 4
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 5
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 6
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 7
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 8
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 9
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 10
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 11
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 12
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 13
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 14
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 15
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 16
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Standings
External links 1988 New York Jets at Pro-Football-Reference.com
References