Weekly Jets Blog Week 16

I suppose anything’s possible. Being the Jets fan that I am, I had to be pessimistic about the Jets playoff chances going into to a Week 16 matchup with the unbeaten Colts. Jets fans have been used to let downs for a long time. But with a little luck, some miracles can come true. The Jets now have a shot at the playoffs thanks to some extraordinary effort by a few individuals, as well as some help from the opposite sideline.
A lot of the hype leading up to this game focused on a main point: would the Colts rest the starters or not? Many thought that if QB Peyton Manning could give the Colts a big enough lead, they could take him and other key starters out to avoid the risk of injury. But when Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell pulled Manning and other key players in the 3rd, the Colts only held a 5-point lead. They wouldn’t score again as the Jets combined great defense with good luck to smother backup QB Curtis Painter and end the Colts run at a perfect season. Brad Smith returned a kickoff 106 yards for a TD and Marcus Douglas returned a Painter fumble for another TD. You could tell that the Colts weren’t having their luckiest game when kicker Adam Vinatieri missed an extra point in the 1st quarter. The Colts also failed to complete a 2-point conversion in the 3rd, something the Jets were able to accomplish. Rookie running back Shonn Greene excelled with 95 rushing yards, and the Jets finished with 202 yards on the ground as a team. Cornerback Darrelle Revis shut down yet another star wide receiver, holding Reggie Wayne to just 33 yards.
While it may seem like the Colts threw the game away, you have to consider the fact that the Jets didn’t allow a TD to Peyton Manning, and that the Jets had a lead early in the 3rd, when Peyton was still in the game. A win next week against the Bengals would give Gang Green its first playoff appearance since 2007, which seems like decades ago, especially for Jets fans. Regardless of the outcome of this year, the upcoming drafts will be especially vital for a rebuilding team that could take huge steps towards being a top tier team in the NFL, something the Jets haven’t been in a long time.