Man, where do you even start with the 2024 New York Jets? Honestly, if you're a fan, you probably spent most of the year alternating between screaming at your TV and staring blankly at the wall. We all thought this was the one. The year the "Rodgers Effect" finally kicked in and pushed the team past that decade-plus playoff drought. Instead, we got a 5-12 finish that felt, in many ways, more exhausting than the 7-10 seasons that came before it.
The final tally for the jets wins and losses 2024 season tells a story of "what ifs" and "not quites." They didn't just lose; they found creative, heartbreaking ways to fall short. We’re talking about a team that held a lead in the fourth quarter during six of their losses. Six! If you flip those, you’re looking at an 11-win playoff contender. But as they say in the NFL, you are what your record says you are.
The Brutal Reality of the 2024 Schedule
The season kicked off with a thud in San Francisco, a 32-19 loss that felt like a reality check. But then, things actually looked okay for a minute. They beat the Titans and absolutely dismantled the Patriots 24-3 in Week 3. Rodgers looked like a surgeon. The defense was swarming. MetLife was actually loud for the right reasons.
Then the wheels didn't just come off—they disintegrated.
A 10-9 loss to the Broncos in a monsoon was the beginning of the end. Then came the London trip. Loss to the Vikings. Robert Saleh gets fired on the flight back—or basically as soon as they touched down. It was a move that stunned the league because Woody Johnson had never fired a coach mid-season before. Jeff Ulbrich took over, but the "new coach smell" didn't really help much. They dropped a heartbreaker to the Bills and then got shredded by the Steelers and Patriots.
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Breakout Players Amid the Chaos
It wasn't all garbage, though. You’ve gotta give credit to a few guys who actually showed up every Sunday. Jamien Sherwood basically turned into a tackling machine once C.J. Mosley went down. He finished with 154 tackles, which is wild for a guy who wasn't even supposed to be a full-time starter.
Then there's Will McDonald IV. People were killing the Jets for drafting him in 2023, but he shut everyone up with 10.5 sacks. He was basically the only consistent pass rush threat they had after Jermaine Johnson tore his Achilles in Week 2 and the whole Haason Reddick drama dragged on forever.
Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson did their thing, too. Hall fell just short of 1,000 rushing yards but was a monster in the passing game. Wilson caught nearly everything thrown his way, even when the offense looked like it was being run through a blender.
Why the Season Fell Apart
A lot of people want to point the finger at Aaron Rodgers. Statistically, his year wasn't even that bad. He threw for nearly 3,900 yards and 28 touchdowns. In any other Jets season, those are Pro Bowl numbers. But the "clutch" factor just wasn't there. He had a passer rating of about 55.9 in the final five minutes of close games. He threw two picks and zero touchdowns in those high-leverage moments.
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Basically, when the game was on the line, the magic was gone.
The Davante Adams trade in October felt like a "win-now" panic move that didn't actually lead to much winning. It felt like the team was trying to recreate the 2014 Packers instead of building a 2024 winner. By the time Joe Douglas was fired in November, the season was effectively over. They were 3-8, the locker room vibes were "off," and fans were already looking at mock drafts.
A Quick Look at the Game Log
- Week 1-3: 2-1 start (The "Hope" Phase)
- Week 4-8: 0-5 streak (The "Collapse" Phase)
- Week 9: Win vs. Texans (The "False Hope" Phase)
- Week 10-14: 0-5 streak (The "Deep Dark" Phase)
- Week 15-18: 2-2 finish (The "Garbage Time" Phase)
Ending the season with a 32-20 win over the Dolphins in Week 18 was a nice little parting gift, but it didn't change the fact that they finished third in the AFC East. Again.
Looking Forward: Lessons from the 5-12 Campaign
So, what do we actually take away from the jets wins and losses 2024 saga?
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First off, culture matters way more than talent on paper. You can have Rodgers, Adams, and a top-five defense, but if the coaching structure is a mess and the front office is a revolving door, you're going to lose those one-score games. They went 3-7 in games decided by eight points or less. That’s not bad luck; that’s bad execution.
The defense is still the backbone. Despite all the chaos, guys like Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner keep this team from being a total basement dweller. If the new coaching staff in 2025 can just get the offense to be "average," this team is a playoff contender. But we’ve been saying that for a decade, haven't we?
If you're looking for an actionable takeaway, keep an eye on the 2025 draft and free agency. The Jets need to stop chasing 30-something stars and start fixing the offensive line for real this time. Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses were okay, but they aren't long-term solutions.
The most important thing to watch is the head coaching search. This team needs a leader who can hold a locker room together when things get weird—because with the Jets, things always get weird.
Stop worrying about the 2024 "what ifs." The record is 5-12. It happened. The best thing a fan can do now is look at the development of guys like Will McDonald and Olu Fashanu. They are the actual future. Everything else from 2024 is just a lesson in how quickly a "Super Bowl or bust" season can turn into a total bust.