The Super Bowl can’t come soon enough for supporters of the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. New York Jets fans, however, might choose to skip the game altogether.
They’ll witness one of two scenarios play out Sunday: Either their former quarterback and presumed savior of the franchise, Sam Darnold, will lead Seattle to its first NFL championship since 2014 or New England, their hated rival, will add to its stuffed trophy case.
For Jordan Kamzan, a 34-year-old from Long Beach, New York, it’s not a difficult choice.
“It could be anyone playing the Patriots,” he said, “I would be cheering for him.”
Connor Hughes, an NFL reporter who covers the Jets and New York Giants for SNY, put it more bluntly.
“If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, that’s when the whole world will just come crashing down on the Jets fan.”
The rivalry between the two teams dates to 1960, when both franchises played in the American Football League. It continued once the league merged with the NFL in 1970 and the Jets and Patriots squared off multiple times a year as members of the AFC East.
While the Patriots lead the all-time series 77–56–1, New England has been even more dominant in recent seasons. Since 2000, the Patriots are 40-12 in regular-season games. They also boast six Super Bowl wins and 18 divisional titles over that span.
Jets fans thought their rival’s reign was over when legendary quarterback Tom Brady left the franchise in 2020 and coach Bill Belichick parted ways in 2024, but they were wrong. Just two years later, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. And they now have a young stud quarterback and coach who figure to cause problems for the foreseeable future.
Drake Maye, a second-year signal-caller out of North Carolina, is in the NFL MVP conversation after taking a 4-13 team last season to the title game. He threw for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and only eight interceptions this year. New head coach Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker who won three Super Bowls as a player, has also been instrumental in the quick turnaround.
The worst part is that the Jets nearly had Vrabel themselves.
“They did everything they could to get him,” Hughes said. “So much so that when he was driving to take the Patriots job, they called him and was basically like, ‘Is there anything we can do to get you out of that car? Is there anything we can do to get you to take our job? We’ll give you more money. We’ll give you full control. We’ll do anything to get you over here.’”
Vrabel didn’t budge. The Jets were forced to pivot to former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who led New York to a 3-14 season in his first year.
“So they are sitting there stuck with Aaron Glenn coming off a three-win season, picking second overall (in the upcoming NFL draft) and having absolutely no hope,” Hughes added.
New York has not made the playoffs in 15 straight seasons.
“People can say they are lovable losers, but they are not even that,” Kamzan said. “What’s there to love?”
Jets fans thought things would turn around in 2018 when they drafted Darnold at No. 3 overall. Instead, Darnold went 13-25 as a starting quarterback and had multiple bizarre incidents off the field that turned into viral memes.
One was when a graphic was shared of Darnold with the words “Out Indefinitely: Mononucleosis” next to him, which was mocked online.
Another was when Darnold said he was “seeing ghosts” while wearing a live microphone during a 33-0 loss to the Patriots on “Monday Night Football” in 2019. Both teams’ fans still bring up the now-famous line.
He left the team after the 2020 season and was considered by many to be a bust.
But despite the lackluster play, many fans and analysts don’t place the blame squarely on Darnold.
“Everything you could possibly do to make a quarterback fail is pretty much what the Jets did,” Hughes said. “You can look at the players he was throwing to, to the guys that were blocking for him and the coaching. It was all bad. … I don’t think there was ever a world, when you really look at it, where Sam has success with the Jets.”
He always had promise in the league if those other aspects — better talent around him, an offensive coach who can make the game easier — came together. And he’s proven that since.
Darnold, after a brief stint as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, has thrived as a starter with the Minnesota Vikings and now the Seahawks. He was efficient all season, passing for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns, and has found a perfect connection with elite receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In the NFC championship against the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold completed nearly 70% of his passes for 346 yards and three scores with no interceptions.
“It’s hard not to feel good for the guy,” Corey Celt, a 36-year-old from Commack, New York, said. “As a Jets fan, I don’t hold any hard feelings against Darnold. It’s a choice between the Patriots and Sam Darnold, and I think picking Sam Darnold is an easy one.”
Kamzan didn’t hesitate when asked if there are “what-ifs” surrounding Darnold.
“Of course. There’s the what-if of, ‘If we just had better management, could this guy have been the franchise quarterback?’ But what are you going to do? It’s the Jets.”
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