January 23, 2011.
You may not remember everything you were exactly doing that day, but one thing you were doing that day was watching the New York Jets play in the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Little did you know that almost 13 years later, that would still stand as the last time the Jets played a postseason game.
With their 30-0 loss Sunday to the Miami Dolphins, coupled with wins by the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans, the Jets were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 13th consecutive season. They also clinched their eighth straight losing season after falling to 5-9.
By extending their drought to 13 seasons, the Jets now have the longest playoff drought among all four of the major sports in North America. They were tied with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, but for now, the Jets stand alone.
The Jets and Sabres moved to the top of this list back in April when the NBA’s Sacramento Kings reached the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
For more context on the Jets’ drought, no other team in the NFL has a drought longer than seven years. The Denver Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 at the end of the 2015 season.
The longest drought in Major League Baseball is shared by two teams. The Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers haven’t played October baseball since 2014. In the NBA, the Charlotte Hornets last danced in the postseason in 2016.
Other than the Sabres, no other professional franchise besides the Jets has gone longer than nine seasons since their last postseason appearance.