Hope. It’s something Jets fans have had little of for the better part of a decade. Going from back-to-back AFC Championship appearances to being dead last in the conference almost every year after has taken its toll.

Gang Green’s lone winning season since 2010, when they made the AFC Championship game, was in 2015 — when they went 10-6. Now, a decade out from that anomaly of a season, what can the Jets learn to try and recreate some of the magic that has since been missing?

Welcome, Fitzmagic

It all started at the beginning of the 2015 offseason.

All had seemed lost. QB Geno Smith was coming off of a horrendous 4-12 season where he suffered a broken jaw. The Jets had lost two wide receivers in free agency. Their secondary was ranked one of the worst in the league. With Woody Johnson firing HC Rex Ryan, fans were gearing up for another disappointing year. But on March 11, 2015, the front office made a move that would unexpectedly shake up the NFL. 

The Jets were in the market for a new quarterback, with Smith sidelined for 6-10 weeks. Free agent options were limited, leaving them no choice but to go out and trade for one. General Manager Mike Maccagnan traded a seventh round pick to the Houston Texans for journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. The decision to bring in a veteran player at a premium position was severely overlooked in the moment, but over time, it ended up paying off in connection with their other offseason accruements. 

The front office replaced the fiery head coach Rex Ryan with Arizona Cardinals DC Todd Bowles. Pro Bowl WR Brandon Marshall signed a one-year deal, along with a reliable target in WR Eric Decker. CB Antonio Cromartie followed Bowles from Arizona back to New York for his second stint in green.

Hearing his former teammate was back in town, CB Darrelle Revis came home and was reunited with Cromartie in the secondary once again. The Jets took star DL Leonard Williams with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft. These acquisitions not only gave Fitzpatrick weapons to throw to, but also a solid defense to even out his turnover-prone playstyle. 

The 2015 team was special
byu/Nicktator3 innyjets

But even with these offseason purchases, the Jets came into the 2015 season having little to no expectations. With an unproven new head coach, new quarterback, new players with no knowledge of the playbook, and no team chemistry, experts predicted another losing season for Gang Green. 

It never should have worked. But it did. 

Balling Out

Fitzpatrick and Marshall had an immediate connection, putting up video game numbers. Decker could’ve been the main target on most other teams, but he was easily one of the best WR2 in the league. Running backs Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell found holes in the line, formed by powerhouse linemen like Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson. 

On the other side of the ball, the defense was one of the most feared in the league. Going from underperformers like Antonio Allen and Darren Walls in 2014, to future Hall of Famers in Cromartie and Revis in 2015 had a serious impact. Muhammad Wilkerson and Damon “Snacks” Harrison put pressure on opposing quarterbacks every game. 

Through six weeks, the Jets were 4-1 after the bye. Fans were ecstatic — they nicknamed their QB “Fitzmagic”. Marshall and Decker were one of the best one-two punches in the league. Ivory and Powell were having career years. Things were rolling, but eventually the hot streak had to end. 

Rollercoaster Ride

During Weeks 7-11, New York lost four out of five games. Fitzpatrick turned the ball over six times over that span. The defense gave up 138 points in that time frame. The team’s tremendous start to the season had been completely erased, evening up their record at 5-5. Fans began to worry — that this would be the “same old Jets”, that it was another losing season, that it was all for nothing. As it turns out, Fitzmagic had another trick up his sleeve.

New York went on a generational tear, winning five straight games. Fitzpatrick averaged over 300 yards a game, and was just short of throwing 400 against the Giants in Week 12. He threw 13 TDs in five games, and only one interception. Marshall and Ivory made their case to be Pro Bowlers. 

On top of all the offensive success , the defense was putting on a clinic. Muhammad Wilkerson had racked up a team-high 12 sacks. Other Jets linebackers combined for another 14.5 sacks. Revis had five interceptions and forced four fumbles. Multiple Pro Bowlers emerged from this squad. All was well, until it wasn’t. 

Cursed

Going into the final week of the regular season, the Jets were 10-5. Even though in most scenarios this would be more than enough to make the playoffs, New York was only one game ahead of Pittsburgh. All they needed was to win Week 17 against a mediocre Buffalo Bills team, coached by none other than former Jets HC Rex Ryan, and they would clinch the spot. 

During the game, the defense stepped up when it counted. They had key takeaways in a tight game, and limited Buffalo from scoring more than 25 points. Unfortunately, the offense did not do them any favors. Fitzpatrick single-handedly threw the game away — literally. He had his worst performance of the season with a passer rating of 42.7, and he threw three interceptions late in the fourth quarter. The Bills won the game 22-17. 

Throwback- 2015 season Jets @ Bills Week 17
byu/Much-Consequence8648 inbuffalobills

And just like that, the season was over. The Pittsburgh Steelers convincingly beat the Browns that night, eliminating the Jets from the playoffs. The Jets left as quickly as they came, finishing second in the AFC East at 10-6. 

Back to Reality

It was a perfect storm of great players coming together to beat the odds. The magic just ran out. At the end of the day, the 2015 Jets exceeded their expectations coming into the season. Everyone had counted them out, and they were one game away from the playoffs. They gave fans hope again. Unfortunately, these were in fact the “same old Jets.”

Fitzpatrick severely regressed in 2016. Eric Decker jumped ship, leaving Marshall as the lone target. With worse QB play he was less of a factor over the course of the season, leading him to leave as well. The rushing attack regressed, as 31-year-old Matt Forte could not hold up. The Jets finished the 2016 season fourth in the AFC East at 5-11.

Now 10 years later, there are some major similarities between the 2015 team and the current roster. Both teams had a new head coach, both had a journeyman QB, both had an elite WR, both had a ground-and-pound running back, and both had an elite defense. It is only a matter of time until the world sees if Justin Fields has some magic left in him, and if he can be the one to finally bring the Jets back to the playoffs.