Getty New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers before his injury in Week 1.
When supposed New York Jets savior Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon just four snaps into his NYJ career, many fans pointed to a familiar narrative: this franchise is cursed.
Now, most people will probably tell you curses aren’t actually real but based on the last 50 years or so, lifelong Jets fans might beg to differ — and apparently, the NFL community agrees. Sportsbook Review surveyed 3,000 fans, asking which NFL franchise is the “most cursed” of the current 32 and the Jets won in a landslide 20.3% of the vote.
Second were the Cleveland Browns, at 17.6%, with the Detroit Lions third at 12.3%.
Aaron Rodgers Injury Sealed Jets’ Fate as ‘Most Cursed’ NFL Franchise
Sportsbook Review Editor in Chief James Bisson provided some analysis after the Jets earned the honor of “most cursed” franchise on September 21.
“It would have been interesting to see if fans were still as pessimistic about their team had we conducted this survey before the J-E-T-S lost starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a season-ending torn Achilles just four plays into the New York phase of his career,” Bisson admitted.
“Alas, once that happened, there could be zero doubt: A franchise wrought with catastrophic injuries and chronic under-performance, particularly among its quarterbacks, was destined to finish on top of this list,” he went on. “And the Rodgers injury is the latest in a long, long history of ineptitude and misfortune for a Jets team that has seen its Super Bowl odds rise like a rocket ship.”
While the Rodgers injury certainly sealed Gang Green’s fate in this poll, Bisson made sure to relay that plenty of the survey’s responses went much deeper than 2023.
“That all said, it’s important to note that, while recency bias certainly played a role in the results, respondents who chose the Jets didn’t limit their reasoning to the Rodgers injury,” he explained. “Poor draft results came up frequently in the responses, as did a lack of confidence in ownership to make good personnel decisions. Oh, and not winning a Super Bowl since 1968[-69] hasn’t helped.”
In conclusion, Bisson voiced: “And at the end of the day, you really have to be a Jets fan to truly understand the extent of the anguish these poor people feel on a yearly basis. As one fan so succinctly summed up when asked why the Jets are the NFL’s most cursed team: ‘Because it’s the Jets.’” That says it all.
Can Zach Wilson Defy the Odds & Break Jets Curse?
In more ways than one, Zach Wilson has the opportunity to shatter this Jets curse once and for all — along with his 2023 teammates in green and white.
Not only do the Jets currently hold the longest NFL playoff drought, but they also flaunt a long history of drafting quarterback busts and of course, dare I mention the distant memory of Joe Namath and Super Bowl III.
If Wilson were to turn around his play and develop into a starting caliber QB, while also leading NYJ back to the postseason, he’d go a long way in changing this narrative. Do it a few years in a row and he might even rid the franchise of this designation the next time Sportsbook Review or someone else decides to survey fans.
The only way to officially break this curse in the eyes of the diehards is a victory in the Super Bowl, however. It feels like the Jets are still a ways away from that after the Rodgers injury in Week 1, but at 1-1 heading into Week 3, there’s still plenty of season left to change that.
Beating the New England Patriots on Sunday (Sept. 24) for the first time since December of 2015 would be a nice start.