Mark Sanchez after getting sacked (AP)

It was a good season, filled with dramatic wins, Bart Scott soundbytes, and all sorts of Rex Ryan fun, but it didn't go quite far enough: the Jets lost the AFC Championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-19. The defense got pushed around too much in the first half, and their explosive second half was undermined by questionable calls in tight spots in the second half. During the first half, FoxSports' Jason Whitlock thought that the team left their hearts in New England, tweeting, "Jets won the Belichick Trophy. Maybe they'll shock me. But Jets left everything in Foxboro." After the game, Football Outsiders' Doug Farrar positively tweeted, "Unlike last year's AFC Championship, Jets proved this time that they could stage a comeback. Maybe next year, it all comes together."

NY Times writer Don Van Nattan summed it up very nimbly: "The #Jets 4th-and-inches play call was the difference. So... all that stood between Rex Ryan and the Super Bowl was a foot." With a lockout possibly looming over the league, and many free agents to be, the Jets could be a very different looking team the next time we see them. But with the still-maturing QB Mark Sanchez, a dominant core on defense, and Rex Ryan at the helm, there's still reasons to be optimistic.