Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

A rare neutral-site game for Jets

The New York Jets are going to Detroit to play the Buffalo Bills, prompting us to go to the record books to determine the last time the Jets played at a neutral site. Actually, the Elias Sports Bureau did the work, and here's what it found:

There have been only two true neutral-site games in franchise history. One was pretty famous -- Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami, where the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts. The other occurred only a few months earlier -- Sept. 22, 1968, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

What were the Jets doing in Alabama? They faced the Boston Patriots in what was considered the Patriots' home opener. It was supposed to be played at Fenway Park, but the Boston Red Sox said it was unavailable for that date. So, at the urging of AFL president Wilt Woodard, they moved it to Birmingham. The primary reason was the league wanted to gauge Alabama's interest in pro football for a possible franchise relocation. The other reason: Joe Namath. He played college ball at Alabama and they figured he'd sell tickets.

A crowd of 29,192 watched the Jets defeat the Patriots, 47-31.

There have been a few other semi-neutral sites. For instance, in 2009, the Jets played the Bills at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, but it was a Bills' home game in every sense. In 1963 and 1964, the Jets faced the Patriots in Chesnut Hill, Mass., a Boston suburb. In 1974, they played the New York Giants at the Yale Bowl, which served as the Giants' home field in 1973 and 1974.

So, really, Monday night's game in Detroit is historic. Too bad they're 2-8.

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