New York Jets Super Bowl Wins, History, Appearances, and More

When four-time NFL MVP and former Super Bowl champ Aaron Rodgers landed in New York via trade with the Green Bay Packers ahead of the 2023 NFL season, Jets fans were quick to envision a return to the Promised Land.

Early preseason odds had New York as a +1600 darkhorse to win Super Bowl LVIII, but Gang Green’s hopes were quickly dashed, when Rodgers ruptured his Achilles on his fourth offensive snap of the season in a prime-time Monday Night Football matchup with Buffalo on Sept. 11.

The Jets proceeded to defeat the Bills in a 22-16 overtime decision behind backup Zach Wilson, who was drafted by New York with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But the Jets' season ultimately went down the drain, as they finished 7-10 for a second straight year in Robert Saleh’s third season as head coach.

With Rodgers set to make a full return in Week 1 of the 2024 season, the Jets faithful are still optimistic of their team's chances of a Super Bowl run. Currently a +2500 choice to claim the Lombardi Trophy, the Jets will likely battle the Miami Dolphins for the top spot in the AFC East.

As we gear up for the 2024 NFL season, YouBet goes back in time to look at the New York Jets’ past Super Bowl wins and appearances in the franchise’s 64-year history.

New York Jets Super Bowl wins

Super Bowl III: Jets vs. Colts

Date: Jan. 12, 1969
Final score: New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

While technically not the first “Super Bowl,” Super Bowl III was the first to bear the trademarked name and produced one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game.

Following an 11-3 record in the regular season, New York entered the matchup as an 18-point underdog to the Baltimore Colts, who finished with a 13-1 record behind Earl Morrall, the replacement for starting quarterback Johnny Unitas, who suffered an injury to his throwing arm in the preseason.

Future Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula, the only head coach to achieve a perfect season in the NFL, led the Colts. Weeb Ewbank — who won the 1958 and 1959 NFL championship with Baltimore — was on the opposite sideline with New York.

Opposing Morrall was quarterback Joe Namath in his fourth season with the Jets. The Hall of Fame quarterback known as “Broadway Joe” famously “guaranteed” a win over Morrall and Baltimore three days ahead of Super Bowl III despite the lopsided point spread. He also told The New York Times there were five quarterbacks in the AFL better than Morrall. Interestingly enough, Morrall enjoyed the best season of his career leading up to Super Bowl III, as he threw for 2,909 yards and a career-high 26 touchdown passes on his way to earning the MVP award. On the flip side, Namath tallied 3,147 passing yards but recorded more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (15).

However, on Jan. 12, 1969, the Jets backed up Namath’s guarantee, building a 16-0 lead in the fourth quarter before the Colts finally hit the board with a one-yard touchdown run with three minutes remaining. Morrall was picked off three times in the game and was replaced by Unitas in the third quarter.

The Jets scored just one touchdown as well, on a four-yard rush by Matt Snell, and were the only winning Super Bowl team to score just one touchdown (on offense, defense, or special teams) until Super Bowl LIII, when the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.

Namath also became the first player in Super Bowl history to receive Super Bowl MVP without scoring or throwing a touchdown. He finished the contest with 206 yards on 17-of-28 passing and took two sacks for a loss of 11 yards.

As of the 2024 NFL season, Super Bowl III is the only matchup that cannot be replicated in the future, barring any conference realignment, as the Jets and Colts (now in Indianapolis) both reside in the AFC.

Following Super Bowl III, the Jets returned to the postseason but lost in the Divisional Round to the eventual Super Bowl champ Kansas City. New York would not make it back to the playoffs again until 1981. In all, the Jets have made 13 postseason appearances and have failed to advance past the conference championship round since 1968. They are the only team other than the New Orleans Saints to win their lone Super Bowl appearance thus far.

The Jets’ two most recent postseason appearances were in 2009 and 2010, both of which resulted in losses in the AFC Championship Game to the Colts and Steelers, respectively.

Other New York Jets championship titles

The New York Jets were established in 1959 as the Titans of New York and were an original member of the AFL, or American Football League.

It was not until 1968 that New York made its first postseason appearance. The Jets went on to compete in the Super Bowl that year and won an AFL Championship by defeating the Oakland Raiders 27-23 inside Shea Stadium to earn a spot in Super Bowl III.