Brett Favre’s Tenure with the New York Jets in 2008 Worked…Then Failed

When NFL quarterback Brett Favre came out of retirement to join the New York Jets in 2008, it started off really well until the second half of these season came. Take a look at the 2008 New York Jets and the ringmaster who failed to get the Jets back into playoff contention. (Credit: New York Times)

I have done a few puzzles in my day and I can’t tell you enough of how frustrating they can be. A lot of the pieces are similar and they seem to be a fit in the appropriate spot. But then I would spend hours more trying to figure out where that one piece would go. This same frustration happens in the world of sports quite often and when the New York Jets signed one of the greatest quarterbacks in the National Football League, it at first seemed like a sure fit, until it failed horribly.

It seemed like NFL quarterback Brett Favre was done with football after his Green Bay Packers were eliminated by the New York Giants in the 2007 NFL playoffs. He had one of the most emotional retirement speeches in the history of sports and many fans thought that he was calling it a career. But in the summer of 2008, he wanted to play again and when the Packers refused because of their new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he signed with the New York Jets.

The match seemed like a perfect relationship as the Jets got off to one of their best starts in a long time. The team started 8–3 and looked like they were going to be AFC and Super Bowl contenders when they fell off a cliff. The team would fall to 9–7 and while not one of the biggest collapses of all time, it was catastrophic enough that New York missed the playoffs and Favre was out of the state. In a 2016 interview on ESPN, Brett Favre reflected on the season. A season where he played hurt as well.

After an 8–3 start to he 2008 NFL season, the New York Jets’ tires went flat as Brett Favre in the last five games would throw only two touchdowns and nine interceptions. He tore his bicep and it only got worst as the Jets finished 9–7. (Credit: New York Times)

“Well, I threw six touchdowns in one game. It’s the only time I ever did it. But I’ll say this–and I’m not an excuse guy-but before I tore my bicep, I was playing pretty good and we were 9–9, I think, and not hitting on all cylinders. But I think our last good game was against the New England Patriots on a Thursday night in New England, which we won, and I played really well. It went downhill from there as the bicep got progressively worse, which ultimately ended up in surgery”, said Favre to ESPN.

So was this probably the reason why the Jets failed? Maybe. I mean if we look at Brett Favre’s season that year, he did start in all 16 games and threw for 3,472 yards and 22 touchdowns, but also threw 22 interceptions. The interceptions he threw were oftentimes hideous and the throws he did in the later half of the season were inconsistent and weak. But when the team went 8–3 to start the season, their offensive line led by Nick Mangold and Alan Faneca and running game were highly effective as running back Thomas Jones had 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns for the year.

Favre, for the second half of the season, started getting sacked a lot due to the offensive lines’ decline. In the final five games of the season according to The Ringer, Favre threw just two touchdowns to nine interceptions to equal a passer rating of 55.2. An embarrassing loss to the Seattle Seahawks was the worst performance that Brett Favre had in his career up to that point as his throws were nowhere near any of the receivers. But the final week of the 2008 NFL season was ultimately the death sentence.

You see, quarterback Chad Pennington, whom the Jets traded away to eventually get Brett Favre, got revenge as the Dolphins defeated New York 24–17. By this point, Favre’s arm was shot and he could never recover, while the wildcat offense of the Dolphins terminated the hopes and dreams that the Jets had in making the postseason. In that game, Favre had three interceptions.

Maybe it would have been better if Favre would have stayed in retirement, what do you think?