Hear that? That's the sound of a million people jumping off the bandwagon.
Thomas Jones rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't nearly enough as Jay Cutler passed for 357 yards and two scores and Peyton Hillis ran for 129 yards and a touchdown as the
Broncos thumped the Jets 34-17 at the Meadowlands. Denver could do no wrong on this miserable, rainy afternoon in Jersey and turned two Jets miscues into 14 big points. Gang Green looked unfocused, unsure and overwhelmed as their five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt.
This was both a disappointing and horrific game if you root for the Green and White. It's the type of game that already has me looking toward next week, but I'm committed to this little roundup of mine. Let's get it over with.
REASONS TO GET UP ON MONDAY:Thomas Jones. There weren't a lot of bright spots for the Jets, but Jones did his best to keep things close. TJ ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. Unfortunately, that's as close as the Jets would come to being in the game. Jones also had a snazzy 29-yard scoring scamper early in the second quarter to pull the Jets to within 17-14. It looked as if Jones was initially stopped on the play after a moderate gain, but the cagey running back rolled over a defender and never touched the ground. Both teams thought the play was over, but Jones raced to the end zone. The Broncos challenged the play, but the review was inconclusive. Mr. Jones went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year in New York with his performance.
REASONS TO SLEEP IN ON MONDAY:Killer turnovers. The Jets were on the move early in the first quarter when they decided to run Brad Smith out of the "wildcat" formation. Smith pitched the ball to Jerricho Cotchery on a reverse. Well, he tried to anyway. The exchange was fumbled by Cotchery and Vernon Fox eventually scooped up the loose football and returned it 23 yards to put the Broncos up 7-0. It looked like Cotchery recovered the football, but the officials ruled that the ball was still live. I disagreed. Incidentally, this was a terribly officiated game. Not to take anything away from the Broncos, they were the better team on Sunday, but the zebras were just awful. Anyway, the second killer mistake came halfway through the second quarter when Favre overshot Laveranues Coles down the left sideline and Dre' Bly made the interception at the Denver 32-yard line. Seven plays later and the Broncos went up 24-14. The Jets have done a good job of holding onto the football during their winning streak, but things fell apart on Sunday.
Run over. The Jets entered play with the third-best rushing defense in the league. You would have never guessed it if you watched this unimpressive display. Poor tackling and gaping holes were abundant and that's usually a recipe for disaster. Hillis ran over and around a drowsy looking Jets defense to record his first-ever 100-yard rushing game. The rookie from Arkansas was the only Bronco to carry the football (outside of Cutler's three carries for -2 yards) and finished with a chunky 5.9 average. Unacceptable.
Riddled to death. Hillis was gaining chunks of yardage on the ground and that opened things up for Cutler and the Bronco passing attack. The Jets entered the ballgame with 35 sacks, good for fourth in the NFL, but they didn't come close to dropping the quarterback on Sunday. Cutler sliced and diced the Jets as he turned in his sixth 300-yard-plus passing performance of the season. Tight ends Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham combined for 13 catches and 149 yards. Again -- unacceptable.
Curious play-calling. I'm not one to rip endlessly on play-calling, but there were two incidents on Sunday where logic seemed to be lacking. The first came with 10:43 remaining in the third quarter. The Gotham Green were down 27-14 and faced a 3rd-and-1 from the Broncos 46-yard line. Brett Favre's pass for Brad Smith fell incomplete. The Jets decided to go for it on 4th-and-1. It was a bit of a gamble, but I was for it since the Jets defense was getting pushed around. But Favre was sacked on the play and the Jets turned it over on downs. The idea that the Jets passed not once, but twice, in an effort to gain one stinkin' yard when Jones was having success running the football made no sense to me. The second strange decision came with 2:48 left in the game and the Jets trailing 34-17. The Jets faced a 4th-and-goal from the Broncos 4-yard line. A field goal would have put the Jets down by 14 points with nearly three minutes remaining. Not really a position you want to be in, but it would have been the prudent thing to do. But Eric Mangini elected to go for the touchdown. It didn't happen. Things were looking bleak at the point, but the Jets were down by three scores. Why not get one of those scores and hope to recover an onside kick? Did being down by 10 instead of 14 really matter at that moment? I say absolutely no.
The only positive to come from Sunday was that the
New England Patriots also lost so the Jets still hold a one-game lead in the AFC East. But that doesn't really warm my spirits right now. The Jets looked like they weren't ready to play this one and that doesn't sit well with me. Maybe the Green and White were just a little too happy with themselves after five wins in a row. Maybe they thought they were cock of the walk after their two impressive road wins in New England and Tennessee. Well, they proved they were cock of nothing after this stinker in front of the home folks!
The Jets will travel to the West Coast for a date with the San Francisco 49ers next week.
Maybe this smack in the face with the cold, wet rag of reality will refocus the Jets.
It sure better.
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You just can't predict football!