Head coach Bruce Coslet Home field The Meadowlands Division place 4th AFC East | Owner Leon Hess Record 4–12 Playoff finish did not qualify | |
The 1992 New York Jets season was the 33rd season for the team and the 23rd in the National Football League. The Jets were looking to improve on their 8–8 record under head coach Bruce Coslet in 1991 and also make a second consecutive trip to the AFC Playoffs. However, it was not to be.
The Jets' problems began in the offseason when veteran quarterback Ken O'Brien announced he was holding out of training camp to get a new contract. O'Brien's holdout continued into the season and Coslet named second-year backup Browning Nagle as the team's starter. Nagle did not have an effective year, only winning three of his thirteen starts. He was eventually replaced by O'Brien late in the year, but was pressed back into action after the veteran suffered a season-ending injury. The Jets didn't win a game until Week 5 against the New England Patriots and only won three more times the rest of the year to finish with a 4–12 record. Two of those wins came against division rivals, the eventual AFC Champion Buffalo Bills and the AFC East winner and conference runner up Miami Dolphins.
In addition to O'Brien's injury, the Jets saw career-ending injuries claim two of their star players and a season-ending injury befall another. In Week 2 defensive end Jeff Lageman, who had been a defensive star for the Jets during their 1991 playoff push, went down with a season-ending injury. Then, in a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos, star receiver Al Toon suffered his ninth career concussion and was forced to retire immediately after eight seasons in the NFL. Finally, in Week 13 against Kansas City, defensive end Dennis Byrd broke his C-5 vertebra in his neck; while going to try to sack Chiefs' quarterback Dave Krieg Byrd ran headfirst into teammate Scott Mersereau to cause the injury. The Jets wore a decal on their helmets for the rest of the season with Byrd's #90 surrounding an ichthys and have not issued #90 since; Byrd has since regained the ability to walk. With Byrd's injury still fresh in their minds the Jets went to Buffalo for their Week 14 matchup with the Bills and defeated them for their fourth and last win of the season.
After the season, Jets star running back Freeman McNeil announced his retirement. At the time of his retirement he was the all-time leading rusher in Jets history, but he has since been surpassed by Curtis Martin.