The Draw Play

This year the Buffalo Sabres broke through and became one of, if not the best, NHL team. The Sabres had spent 14 years giving their fans nothing to be excited about. The Sabres playoff drought was old enough that Steve Tisch wouldn’t date it. But that ended, and now the Sabres are in the playoffs. Buffalo fans finally have something else to cheer about that isn’t Josh Allen. Good for them.

They join the ranks of several other teams that have recently ended massive playoff droughts. The Mariners finally broke through in 2022 after 20 years. The Nationals, who had the longest drought ever at 30 years, got through in 2012. The Sacramento Kings were at 16 years and broke through in 2022. The Browns ended their misery in 2020. Droughts don’t last forever. They end. That’s the good news. Eventually, you reach the end of the tunnel.

This leaves the New York Jets with the longest postseason drought in major American sports. Now 15 years.Luckily for the Jets, they still have a ways to go to match some of the historical droughts and the chances the NFL expands to 8 playoff teams to go with 18 games is high in the coming decade. Also good news for the Jets: they still won a playoff game more recently than the Raiders (not since 2002) and the Dolphins (not since 2000, woof). They have a long ways to go to match that.

The Jets also don’t have the longest division win drought, funnily enough. The Browns and Raiders have more recent playoff victories, but only as Wildcards. The Browns haven’t won their division since 1989. Even with the 3 missing seasons, woof.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: that number is probably reaching 16 years without much difficulty. The Jets are not in a good place. Their new coach spent most of last year looking lost, had to replace both his coordinators, and his team had a fire sale midway through 2025. They now own a lot of quality draft capital and one great draft can change everything, but the Jets have already had good drafts during this drought. They are in such a hole that even if they do take a step forward, things look bleak for 2026. All signs point to this current staff getting axed by the end of next season.