Weekly Jets Blog: Week 14

It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done. The Jets drubbed Tampa Bay 26-3 despite not having quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Jets decided to give Sanchez extra rest after a knee injury by starting Kellen Clemens, who struggled with just 111 passing yards, but didn’t have any turnovers. The constant themes of dominating defense, poor offense, and superb kicking shined once again down in Florida. The win was the 3rd straight for Gang Green, improving their record to 7-6, and keeping them in the playoff hunt.
Failure to capitalize on wonderful opportunities defined the Jets offense once again. On the first play from scrimmage, David Harris picked off Tampa’s rookie QB Josh Freeman, one of three picks Freeman threw. Harris brought the ball down to the Tampa 31, setting up great field position for Clemens and the offense. Well the Jets went 3-and-out and Jay Feely came on and nailed a 40-yard field goal. The field goal was one of four on the day for Feely, making it his 2nd straight week with four field goals. The Jets couldn’t fully take advantage of excellent field position until Thomas Jones scored late in the 2nd quarter. Jones had 99 rushing yards with 2 TDs, and the Jets outrushed Tampa with 175 rushing yards to just 43. The Jets finished with 310 total yards to Tampa’s 124. Shonn Greene coughed up another fumble, but also showed several good signs of development.
To nobody’s surprise, the Jets defense demolished yet another offense. The picked Freeman off three times and could have held them scoreless if it weren’t for a foolish “un-necessary roughness” penalty on Bart Scott, which gave Tampa Bay the chance to set up and make a field goal. Calvin Pace led the pack with 7 tackles and a sack. Gang Green held Freeman to just 93 passing yards. But the best is yet to come. Not a single Tampa Bay running back recorded more than 14 rushing yards and not a single Buccaneers receiver had more than 26 receiving yards.
As improbable as it may seem, the Jets do have the tools to win the rest of their regular season games and to the playoffs. At 7-6, the Jets are tied with Miami for 2nd place in the AFC East, just one game behind the leading Patriots. The Jets are also just barely behind the two wild card leaders, 8-5 Denver and Miami. The problem happens to be those pesky Miami Dolphins. If the Jets were tied with Miami for either the division title or for the wild card, Miami would go to the playoffs because they beat the Jets in both of their regular season matchups. The same case is true for the Jets in the wild card scenario with 7-6 Jacksonville, who also barley beat the Jets. The Atlanta Falcons, Gang Green’s Week 15 opponents, are injury-laden but have managed to stay close in games. The Jets will have to make a statement early, like they did against Tampa.
Despite their struggles this season, the Jets do have the making of a playoff or even championship-caliber team. The last two Super Bowl champions, the Giants and the Steelers, were and still are teams that were successful because of a great running game and great defense. The Jets lead the NFL in rushing yards per game, as well as total defense and passing defense, meaning that they give up the least passing and total yards per game to opponents. If the Jets can stay true to these powerful foundations, a playoff spot could be theirs, and possibly a championship in the near future.