Bruce Coslet's Jets really had no business in the postseason. They started the season 1–3 and ended it 1–3. In between, they had some big wins, like a 41–23 victory over the Dolphins, but they also gave the Colts their only win of the year. () Ken O'Brien threw for 3,300 yards but just 10 touchdowns, as he displayed a knack for the redzone interception. At 7–8, they faced an 8–7 Dolphins team with a Wild Card bid on the line. As fate would have it, the Jets would walk away with a 23–20 overtime victory and a postseason birth. They would lose to the Oilers, 17–10, in the Wild Card round.
That Jets team had a lot of young talent, including Blair Thomas, Mo Lewis, Rob Moore, and Terance Mathis. They would add Jeff Blake and Johnnie Mitchell () the following year. Unfortunately, that team also had Coslet. The Jets went 4–12 (1992 ), then 8–8 (1993 ), then switched to Pete Caroll () (1994 ), then (ugh) Rich Kotite (1995 ). Thomas and Mitchell never developed. Moore, Mathis and Blake would have their best seasons elsewhere. This wasn't a team going places; it was a team that tripped into the playoffs by accident.