No matter who wins the Super Bowl, New York Jets fans lose

Super Bowl 60 will showcase a glittering rematch between the Seattle Seahawks’ league-best defense and the resurgent New England Patriots, led by second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Yet for a vocal and long-suffering segment of the NFL’s fan base, the league’s showcase game is a no-win proposition.

No matter which sideline hoists the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, supporters of the New York Jets will be handed fresh evidence of their franchise’s futility. A Seahawks victory would mean Sam Darnold—the quarterback New York selected third overall in 2018 and cast aside after three turbulent seasons—has reached the sport’s summit. A Patriots triumph would extend the dynasty that has tormented the Jets since the turn of the century and signal that New England’s latest rebuild is already ahead of schedule.

“It could be anyone playing the Patriots—I would be cheering for him,” said Jordan Kamzan, 34, of Long Beach, New York, summing up the lesser-of-two-evils calculus many green-and-white loyalists now face.

Connor Hughes, who covers the Jets and Giants for SNY, frames the dilemma in starker terms. “If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, that’s when the whole world will just come crashing down on the Jets fan.”

The roots of the angst run deep. The Jets and Patriots have shared a division since the AFL’s birth in 1960, and New England has seized control of the rivalry in the modern era. Since 2000 the Patriots own a 40-12 regular-season record against New York, six Super Bowl titles, and 18 AFC East crowns. Gang Green, by contrast, has missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive seasons and carries a 3-14 record from last year into the offseason.

Jets faithful hoped the misery would abate after Tom Brady’s 2020 departure and Bill Belichick’s 2024 exit. Instead, New England retooled overnight. Drake Maye, the 2023 first-round pick out of North Carolina, has morphed a 4-13 roster into a title-game participant, throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions. First-year coach Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker with three rings as a player, has orchestrated the rapid resurgence.

New York pursued Vrabel aggressively, according to Hughes. “They did everything they could to get him,” he said. “When he was driving to take the Patriots job, they called him and were basically like, ‘Is there anything we can do to get you out of that car?’” Vrabel declined, leaving the Jets to hire former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, whose debut campaign produced three wins and the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Darnold’s renaissance only sharpens the sting. Traded away after a 13-25 mark and a pair of infamous moments—the “mono” graphic and the “seeing ghosts” quote on Monday Night Football—he has resurfaced as Seattle’s poised field general. In the NFC Championship he completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 346 yards and three scores against the Rams, capping a season in which he totaled 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns.

“Everything you could possibly do to make a quarterback fail is pretty much what the Jets did,” Hughes said. “I don’t think there was ever a world … where Sam has success with the Jets.”

Corey Celt, a 36-year-old fan from Commack, New York, has made peace with rooting for the ex-quarterback. “It’s hard not to feel good for the guy,” he said. “Picking Sam Darnold is an easy one.”

Still, the broader takeaway remains bleak. Whether Darnold rides down Broadway as a champion or the Patriots add a seventh banner, New York’s offseason will be framed by another franchise’s celebration.

“What’s there to love?” Kamzan asked. “It’s the Jets.”

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