1982 New York Jets season


The 1982 New York Jets season was the 23rd season for the franchise and its 13th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 10–5–1 record from 1981 and return to the playoffs under head coach Walt Michaels. The season was marred by an eight-week players’ strike, cancelling eight scheduled games, and eliminating divisional play for the season; the top eight teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs. The Jets finished the season with a record of 6–3 and sixth place in the American Football Conference. They defeated [1982 1982 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals season|the Cincinnati Bengals] 44–17 and [1982 1982 Los Angeles Raiders season|Los Angeles Raiders season|Los Angeles Raiders] 17–14 in the first two rounds of the playoffs to advance to their first AFC Championship Game. There, they fell to their division rivals, [1982 1982 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins season|the Miami Dolphins], 14–0.

Schedule

Season summary

Week 8: at Minnesota Vikings


Postseason

RoundDateOpponent ResultRecordVenueRecap
Wild CardJanuary 9at Cincinnati Bengals W 44–171–0Riverfront Stadium57,560
Divisionalat Los Angeles Raiders W 17–142–0Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum90,038
AFC Championship GameJanuary 23at Miami Dolphins L 0–142–1Miami Orange Bowl67,396

AFC Championship: at Miami Dolphins

The "Mud Bowl", in which the Jets were angered by the condition of the Orange Bowl’s grass field, which was not covered and was inundated with a huge amount of rainfall from a series of storms that swept through South Florida the week preceding the game. Don Shula responded by stating that he hadn't checked the weather reports because he was focused on getting the Dolphins ready for the game, and that both teams would face the same conditions in any case. A. J. Duhe intecepted three passes, returning the last for the game-sealing touchdown.

Awards and honors