Weekly Jets Blog: Week 13

Yuck. It wasn’t the prettiest football game ever played, but the Jets pulled of the crucial 19-13 victory over Buffalo. Both offenses struggled mightily as each team only scored one touchdown. The Jets defense thrived once again, in this division battle played in Toronto. This matchup north of the border may not be remembered as a classic, but the win was another step in the right direction for Gang Green, who is still trying to sneak into playoff contention.
Thomas Jones rushed for 100 yards once again, and Mark Sanchez didn’t have any turnovers, but the Jets offense missed many opportunities. Sanchez overthrew a wide open Jerricho Cotchery in the end zone and the Jets had to kick a field goal. Then Braylon Edwards dropped a 49-yard pass that hit him in the head and that also would have easily gone for a touchdown. There were a few positives, such as a nice 13-yard TD pass to Edwards, as well as a 59-yard rushing performance for Shonn Greene, the second highest total of the rookie’s career. Kicker Jay Feely provided most of the offense, accounting for 13 of the team’s 19 points. He hit 4 out of 4 of his field goal attempts and made his only extra-point attempt.
The key to the game, once again, without surprise, was the Jets defense. They held the Bills to 194 total yards, of which just 71 were passing yards. The Bills were also held to just 1 3rd down conversion out of 11 attempts. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was a monster once again in shutting down a hot Terrell Owens, holding him to just 3 catches for 31 yards and no touchdowns after he had 293 yards and 2 TDs the previous two weeks.
The scary thing for the Jets going forward will be the health of Mark Sanchez. He injured his right knee on a slide that picked up a key first down. He was replaced by Kellen Clemens as he limped to the locker room. Fortunately, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Another positive is that since the Jets played on Thursday, they won’t play again until next Sunday, giving Sanchez 10 days to rest. A third positive is that Gang Green’s next game is against the 1-10 Tampa Bay Bucs, which could mean that Sanchez could split time with Clemens or Erik Ainge if the Jets get a large enough lead against the horrific Bucs defense. This 2-game winning streak has kept the Jets just on the brim of the playoff picture in the AFC wildcard race. At 6-6, they need virtually need to win their final four games to get in, and finishing 10-6 isn’t even a guarantee for a playoff spot. Their schedule is much more favorable than it seems. Matchups against Tampa and the banged-up Atlanta Falcons should be easy wins, even for the Jets. Then they face the top two teams in the AFC in the 11-0 Colts and the 8-3 Bengals. These games are actually very winnable for the Jets for a very good reason. Both the Colts and the Bengals will have clinched playoff spots and possibly home-field advantage in the playoffs by the time they play the Jets. There is a very good chance that they either rest their starters or play them for just a part of the game to avoid injury. Regardless, the Jets will have to start playing better against good teams if they want to sniff the playoffs this season. If Sanchez can minimize mistakes on offense, and the running game and defense stay true to who they’ve been all year, the Jets have a slight shot of making a disappointing season into a great season.