MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson spoke about Sunday’s game in which the Jets suffered their latest fourth-quarter collapse in a season full of them, but his words could have applied to the last decade -Plus.

“When you’re up in the fourth quarter, all of a sudden you feel like you have a losing problem,” he said after a 32-26 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. “(It’s like) you have a gene or something—.”

The search for the winning DNA has been going on for a long time.

Although the reality had already set in weeks ago, the loss officially eliminated the Jets (3-10) from the playoffs, extending their postseason drought to 14 seasons. They passed the Buffalo Sabers (13), giving them the longest active streak among the five major sports leagues in North America – the NFL, NBA, MLB, NFL and WNBA. Next on the list are the Los Angeles Angels (10) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (nine).

The Jets’ season began with Super Bowl dreams. Now all they have to do is clean up a mess.

“(I’m) extremely shocked and disappointed and frustrated – and every other adjective you can imagine,” said interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, whose record has fallen to 1-7 since he replaced the fired Robert Saleh.

The Jets last made the playoffs in 2010, when Rex Ryan was the coach and Mark Sanchez was the quarterback. Since then, four coaches have contributed to the drought – Ryan (four seasons), Todd Bowles (four), Adam Gase (two) and Saleh/Ulbrich (four).

The names and regimes change, but the results remain the same.

In the Super Bowl era, only five teams had longer playoff slumps than the Jets, led by the New Orleans Saints, who were eliminated for 20 years (1967–86). The others: the Buffalo Bills (2000-16), Cleveland Browns (2003-19), New York Giants (1966-80) and Arizona Cardinals (1983-97).

With a healthy Aaron Rodgers in 2024, the Jets expected to play well into January, maybe even February.

“It’s obviously something this team was built to do, so not being able to do it is really frustrating and it’s a shame that mathematically it’s not even a chance anymore,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “So yeah, overall it’s just frustrating. There’s nothing we can do about it right now, but it’s frustrating as hell.”

The Jets couldn’t even beat the Dolphins (6-7) on a day when Rodgers put up Rodgers-like numbers from his glory days. He completed 27 of 39 passes for 339 yards, his first 300-yard passing day in 35 games. He also threw a touchdown, his 20th of the season. But in the last minute of regulation time they blew a 26:23 lead, with failures mainly on defense and special teams. They have also committed ten penalties, for a total of 22 in the last two games.

It was their fifth loss after leading in the fourth quarter, a franchise record. It happened in three straight games.

The Jets scored on their first five possessions, with Wilson (seven catches for 114 yards) and Davante Adams (nine for 109) leading the passing attack. Then came the collapse.

After a 42-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Anders Carlson took a short kickoff that ended in a 45-yard kickoff return that set up Jason Sanders’ game-winning 52-yard field goal with seven seconds left prepared. In overtime, the Jets offered little resistance, allowing the Dolphins to march down the field 70 yards in eight plays, ending with Jonnu Smith’s 9-yard touchdown catch.

“We have to find a way to bring these things to a conclusion and closure,” Ulbrich said. “We have to do our best when our best is needed and we can’t do that and I have to look at myself first.”

The Jets are 0-7 in games decided by six points or fewer – the story of their season.

According to ESPN Analytics, they entered the game with a 57% chance of making the playoffs. Their chance peaked at 80% after Week 3, when they were 2-1. Now they have lost nine of their last 10 games, one of the worst stretches in franchise history.

“Yes, expectations were high,” Rodgers said. “We haven’t reached them, not even close. Three weeks into the season it felt good. I didn’t play well enough in some difficult times and we’re sitting here with the record we have.