The Jets can’t escape the turbulence.
As the New York Jets endure another tough losing season, fans of the team received an unexpected jolt on Jeopardy! Thursday night—just hours after a report claimed that team owner Woody Johnson makes significant decisions based on player ratings from the Madden NFL video game franchise.
Jets supporters were left stunned when host Ken Jennings revealed the answer to the Final Jeopardy! clue in the “Super Bowl History” category, which referenced the Jets’ prolonged struggles in the postseason.
The clue Jennings read was: “It’s the only team to play in the Super Bowl before Neil Armstrong’s moon walk that has not been back to the Big Game since.”
Although all three contestants mistakenly guessed the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and Houston Texans, Jennings revealed the correct answer was the New York Jets.
“The winners of Super Bowl 3, the Jets, are having a pretty rough 55-year streak,” Jennings remarked.
Contestant Laura Faddah ultimately became the champion, wagering just $2,400 of her $13,600 on the final question.
But many Jets fans watching the popular quiz show also felt like losers.
“Even Jeopardy is sh–ting on the Jets today. I am in hell,” one frustrated fan posted on X.
“Jets fans can’t even watch Jeopardy in peace these days,” another user said.
“Not knowing that the Jets were in a Super Bowl might be the lowest moment of their franchise. Even worse than being the subject of a Final Jeopardy question that’s kinda sh–ting on them,” another fan pointed out.
“Damn Final @Jeopardy why you gotta be so hurtful to us Jets fans? We suffer enough!” a fan of Gang Green lamented.
The last time the Jets appeared in a Super Bowl was in 1969, when quarterback Joe Namath, now 81, led the team to a 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts).
Aside from Armstrong’s moon landing, the Jets last claimed a Lombardi Trophy when Richard Nixon was President-elect, over 500,000 U.S. troops were engaged in the Vietnam War, Led Zeppelin was preparing to release their first album, The Brady Bunch was filming its debut season, and the Woodstock festival was still months away.
The Jeopardy! jab added insult to injury for the struggling franchise, which had already faced a rough day.
Earlier Thursday, Jets fans learned that Woody Johnson had vetoed a potential trade for former Broncos star and current Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy because his Madden NFL rating was too low, a decision reportedly conveyed by former Jets GM Joe Douglas to Denver, according to The Athletic.
This decision was allegedly influenced by Johnson’s teenage sons, Brick, an 18-year-old Harvard freshman, and his younger brother Jack.
Jeudy, despite inconsistent quarterback play in Cleveland, has been one of the NFL’s top receivers this season, with 70 receptions for 1,052 yards and four touchdowns.
The Jets, sitting at a 4-10 record as they enter Week 16, are officially out of playoff contention.
This marks the 14th consecutive season the team will miss the playoffs and the 19th time in Woody Johnson’s 25 years of ownership.
