Ranking the 25 biggest NFL rivalries of all time

18. Top NFL Rivalries – New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

• All-Time History: Patriots lead 71-54-1
• First Meeting: Sept. 17, 1960 (Patriots 28, Titans 24)
• Last Meeting: Oct. 24, 2021 (Patriots 54, Jets 13)
• Postseason History: Patriots lead 2-1

This rivalry has been one-sided of late but the Patriots and Jets have shared a mutual hatred over the years. The two two teams have been bitter rivals since they were founding members of the AFL in 1960, but things really heated up in the 1990s thanks to Bill Parcells.

Dissatisfied with how much control Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft allowed him to have over the roster, Parcells essentially forced his way to the Jets in 1997, starting a big cycle of coach and player movement between the two franchises. Bill Belichick contributed to the rivalry by resigning after just one day as the Jets’ head coach to take over in New England, setting the stage for the Patriots’ dynasty.

The Jets also contributed to the dynasty when Mo Lewis knocked Drew Bledsoe out of a game in 2001 with an injury that got the Patriots’ quarterback hospitalized, leading to the insertion of little-known backup Tom Brady into the New England lineup. Brady took the job and ran with it, adding more fuel to the fire of this rivalry since he and Belichick took tremendous glee in embarrassing the Jets any chance they could.

The rivalry peaked in the 2000s, when the Jets were New England’s toughest competition in the AFC East, with New York scoring a big blow when they stunned the top-seeded Patriots in an upset at Gillette Stadium during the 2010 playoffs weeks after getting embarrassed by New England in a 45-3 debacle on Monday Night Football. The Patriots have dominated ever since, humiliating the Jets with the butt fumble on Thanksgiving in 2012 and ripping off 12 consecutive victories in the series dating back to 2016.