Game Recap: Jets Find an Identity
For those of us who have been forlorn these past few weeks watching the Jets play down to their competition, today’s game proved the New York Jets could play up to the competition, as well. Finally, the Jets played good football against a good opponent and they did it convincingly defeating the Buffalo Bills 26-17 in a game that, at least for the second half, wasn’t even that close.
In a season where a team is coming together, you look for a game where it seems as if the lights have suddenly come on. Today’s game had that moment. It came after a remarkable sequence of plays that, by rights, should have left the Bills with a very solid lead in a game they seemed to be dominating. It began at 8:05 of the first quarter, with the score 7-6 Buffalo. The Bills’ engineered a possession that turned into a long, slow grind. Seventeen plays that consumed the remaining nearly seven minutes of the quarter brought the Bills to the Jets 14 yard line poised to put up at least three. But, then, Trent Edwards, pressured by Kris Jenkins who was, inexplicably, single teamed by the Bills’ inexperienced second string Center, threw the ball directly to Abram Elam who ran it back 92 yards (just barely) for a score. Instead of a Bills’ lead, it went for seven the other way around and the Jets were suddenly in front.
But, the score meant the Bills would get the ball back and they started where they had left off grinding out another long drive down to the Jets 8. This drive would take another seven and a half minutes off the clock but again, Kris Jenkins would stop it, this time on downs. The Bills had gambled on a short third down with a pass to Evans but Edwards overthrew him. Then, on fourth down, they decided not to kick a FG and ran it—right into Kris Jenkins who was quick as a cat and as mean as a snake today, ringing up two sacks on the day. That was it. Thirty offensive plays and the Bills had given up seven points in the process and scored none for their own side. If you were watching for that special moment when the team comes together, it was there.
When the light went on on the defense, it seemed to affect the Jets’ offense as well. They took the ball and ran off sixteen plays of their own. Favre seemed to be perfectly happy to reel off a series of short, sure passes. Thomas Jones did some nice running and there was a balance that had not been seen in Jets’ green this year. Feely missed a thirty-six yarder but there was a new feeling in the stadium. The Jets had come to play.
In the second half, the Jets put the hammer down. After a three and out possession, they reeled off another nice series culminating in a Feely twenty yarder for a 16-7 lead. The Bills would answer with a fifty-three yarder by Rian Lindell but they wouldn’t threaten to score again. The Jets seemed to have too many bullets in the gun as their offense kept nickel-and-diming them but with nice balance. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, who both had excellent games (LW’s out-of-bounds play on a kickoff in the fourth quarter was brilliant), made the Bills quick defense stay honest. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, it was 23-10 and all but over.
Critics will now point to another Brett Favre gaffe here. If you believe the glass is half full, skip this paragraph. Brett Favre, even after being warned, did in fact try to hit on twenty. Under a lot of pressure, he threw to Cotchery who was covered step-for-step by Greer and guess who caught it and ran it in for a touchdown? I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t the guy named after the city that Joshua fought the battle of. Once again, we had to wonder, “what was he thinking?” Was he going to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory?
No, not this time.
The Jets took the following kickoff and, essentially, ran out the clock. They drove the ball, expertly, deliberately and “safely” and, in the process, forced Buffalo to use up all their time outs. By the time the Jets kicked the field goal that would make it a nine point game, it was all but over. Darelle Revis, who also had a sensational game, put the punctuation on the win by intercepting Edwards on the goal line. It was sweet.
Those of you who have read me over the past nine weeks will remember that I have repeatedly said it would take eight games for the Jets to gel, if they were going to come together at all. After eight games, I must say, it seems to have happened. This was a splendid win. Not as pretty as it could have been. Favre’s INT was painful and the secondary, after Revis and Lowery, is still a few tokes short of a bowl (Drew Coleman had an atrocious game and Edwards compiled career numbers and he ain’t that good). Still, it was a superb win on the road against a competitive, contending team.
This one we can build on.
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Let me be among the first to congratulate the JETS on a “big” victory. These are the JETS I have been waiting to see since the start of the season. Tough football and just a great time consuming drive late in the 4th quarter to put game away. Now we need to carry this over to the lowly Rams.
Nice analysis. The D is really building on the impossible to run against reputation we haven’t seen in NY in..well I can’t even remember. The only downside is that those big, tough, run-stopping LB’s are vulnerable to underneath throws inflating QBs’ passing numbers. Another way to look at it, though, is that teams have no choice but to pass on the Jets and they are going to hit some.
Some stronger secondary play from whomever’s behind Revis, Lowrey and Rhodes would definitely help. If we get some improvement there, no one will feel good about facing this unit. Elam certainly seemed to earn himself another start.
Yes, Favre tempted fate again but I’ve also seen fans freak out when the Jets have gone into a shell with a lead. It was a bad read and throw but, for the most part, he played controlled and hit some key darts to LC, Cotch and Keller to extend drives.
However one of my favorite things about the game was the way the team ran the ball when the Bills knew they were going to run and stacked the box.
Leon’s play on the KO was as good an example of winning with your head as you’ll see.
There were some shaky moments on the field and the sidelines but plenty more good ones. A solid win on the road against a tough division opponent.
elam’s the new starter…he rattled a guy before the pick to force an incompletion…he’ll play more and improve
great analysis andy! I agree that this game wasn’t 100% clean, but it’s the first time this season that I’ve seen real solid effort when facing real adversity.
there’s a lot to build on … I hope it is coming together and to be 5-3 at the halfway mark is a good launching pad if so.
Drew Coleman sucks, the reason why we notice that he sucks is because the defense picks on him all game and he is constantly on the ground missing tackles or chasing recievers. Corner isnt the easiest position to have depth in, but I dont know if Coleman even makes it to the end of the season
run the ball, play defense…. and you can win anywhere.
I’m happy to see the Jets finally have a run D. KJ is a beast at the NT position that has helped every other linemen. The secondary is still suspect, but it’s good to see them come up with the key INTs at times. Elam’s pick was a early turning point. Where was the pressure today?
The Offensive line has to do a better job of pass protection. I think most of Favre’s picks are due to pressure pushing in the pocket, not allowing him to step up or getting hit as he throws, although today they did a good job for the most part. Run blocking is jelling (I think). They should be able to run from here on out.
Special teams are still a question, mainly with the kickers being avg, at best.
I think that they will be even better against NE in a couple of weeks if they can be consistent against the Rams next week. Good win today Jets!
good notes , seems like Revis is forcing himself into the top CB list , you know some say that our schedule only gets harder but its easy , we should win next week and I think we can beat the pats and we have 10 days to prepare for the titans while they only get the usual week and after that denver has to travel east to play us and its hard doing that and then i think we will get our lost against 49ers because we have to go to the west
i’ve been calling for elam to start for weeks and he came through today. wow guys how about revis??that kid is turning out to be a pro bowl caliber cb give mangini credit for drafting this kid.also, jenkins is a BEAST
For me, the most impressive part of this entire win is that I still don’t think the team is firing on all cylinders yet! Points were left on the field (Feely’s miss, and after the fumble recovery inside the 10), and the play was sort of sloppy in the first half, with some bad penalties .. ..
BUT
A win is a win and this one was a very good one. The defense has been getting better week after week — if not for Favre’s picks, the past few games wouldn’t have even been close, including the Raiders game. And the offensive playcalling was better today — a good mix.
Now no letdown against the Rams next week … keep making progress, as Mangini is fond of saying …
Revis is the best corner in the league.
the jets are still a work in progress and they need to continue to develop and build chemistry
The team was definitely firing on all cylinders today. Among Revis, Jenkins, Elam, Washington and even Jones… who would you give the game ball? One of the first games this season where this was a hard question.
LW’s out of bounds return turned a molehill into a mountain for the Bill’s D. I can’t say if all the lauded kick returners in this league would have had the focus and patience to do that.
A little more on that last play; Revis is SIX INCHES shorter than Hardy but when they both went up it was impossible to tell. Some guys play bigger than they are and Revis is one of them.
Let’s try to send all the above mentioned plus Ellis and Rhodes to the pro-bowl… they’ve earned it
correction: CLOSE TO firing on all cylinders today.
If the passing game can get to the level of play we saw against the Bengals, this will be a hard team for anyone to beat.
Against the Bengals? 189 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT? That’s what we’re trying to attain? I hope you meant the Cardinals game..
This was the type of game that every player needed and needless to say the coaches also. A physical simplified game that demanded ball controll and no turnovers. Looks like all the players are getting on the same page. Except for one bonehead play Farve deserves credit for executing a conservative plan very well. It must have felt like a chinese water torture to him but finally the team showed what it can do when all the players buy into the game plan. I was looking for this type of game today and I believe we are comming together now at the right time. Maybe now we can get off Manginis, Schottys, Sutton and the other coaches backs. Lets enjoy the games and support our team. Stay positive!!!!.
You point out the secondary behind Lowery and Revis, yet Lowery was not that great himself. He even got benched in the second half, I love the player, but he obviously has some growing pains ahead of him. And Rhodes came alive a little to break up that TD pass, hopefully one day hell get an INT
Favre’s pic 6 was just to remind us we are the Jets. Couldn’t be happier with the team. The D was amazing and the O played well. Real big division win. This division is wide open. Lets enjoy this week. Go Jets!
It was nice to see the Jets come out pumped. They played hard all day and they beat Buffalo at their home, which is not easy to do. The play calling had it’s moments but, it is still lacking, as we fizzled out in the red zone, a number of times. Mangini’s call to accept the penalty was a mistake but, he made up for it, by throwing the flag to get the too-many-men-on-the-field penalty. The play the punter made by grabbing the high snap, on the last field goal, was worth his yearly salary. Leon’s play on the kickoff gave us the ball on the forty — game ball for that one, Leon. Revis was spectacular and not only get’s a game ball but, makes me go to the All-Pro voting to punch his name in. Jenkins was a monster, throwing double teams to the ground. He gets a my vote. Ellis and the rest of the D-Line played hard all game.
Coleman was a horror show. He must have partied in the parking lot, before the game.
Bowens is too big and slow to cover anyone out of the backfield. The coaches should have known that. I still like him but, he was exposed.
Rhodes play to stop the TD was a thing of beauty. He has been quiet but, that play, and the addition of Elam, might wake him up.
Thomas has been running with authority. The run blocking is coming together.
As usual, the Jets made us sweat, on a day that they should have kicked some butt. Bottom line — I’ll take it. Like R in CT said, the Jets have not shown their best yet. Now go kick the Ram’s butts and break out your best for the hated Patriots. Go Jets.
NO SINGLE O- PLAYER WENT OVER 100 YRDS. AND WE SCORED 26 PTS. EVERYTIME WE SCORE 20+ WE WIN. IF WE GIVE BRETT MORE TIME OUR RECEIVERS WILL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GOING OVER 100YRDS. I THINK AFTER TODAY WE ARE ALMOST THERE. REVIS IS PROBOWL MATERIAL. WE COULD HAVE THREE FROM THE JETS GOING TO HAWAII THIS YEAR!! WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO GET ONE YRD RUN EVEN IF ITS PREDICTABLE. I DONT THINK WE CAN LINE UP STRAGHT UP. WE WILL NEED TRICKERY OR A SPREAD FORMATION TO GET THAT ONE YRD. THAT CAN MAKE OR BRAKE YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!
It’s true, we’re not firing on all cylinders yet. This team is stacked. I don’t think there’s a team in the league that odds makers would give us seven point against, even on the road.
It does seem that this team is coming around, but with Favre at QB, we’re going to have great days and we’re going to have dismal days. We just have to hope that when we make the playoffs he doesn’t have any of the dismal ones.
Pats lose….3 way tie for first. Nice feeling after 8 games
Favre’s interception: if he doesn’t underthrow it, it’s either an incomplete or a catch. The db had great coverage, but if it’s not behind Cotchery, then Jerrico most likely break’s it up. It wasn’t pretty butthe truth is, it was the RIGHT read by Favre. Jerrico was in single coverage there. It was just an awful throw.
I was really worried in the 1st half (still am a bit), that Favre was pressured so much. I like the short quick passes, I’d like to see them give him some time to stretch the field as well.
On SNY (great seeing that bonehead Schein in a favre jersey), someone emailed a question about what did Favre do that Chad couldn’t. The numbers might have been Chad-like today, but with Favre there was the threat of the bomb, which helped keep the D honest. That’s the one thing Chad never had.
we are technically in 1st place as we are 2-1 in division, NE is 1-1, Buff is 0-2
the leon washington play on the kickoff was simply fantastic — it highlighted the best of westhoff and leon deserves huge props for turning what could have been a disastrous mistake into great field position.
while the red zone offense is still too conservative for my taste, and the missed FG before halftime was too reminiscient of same old jets, let’s remember that their kicker also missed a very make-able FG and that both teams also had an INT returned for 6 points.
first place after 8 games is something we ALL would have taken… so let’s hope they take care of business next week and we can get excited for the Pats showdown.
Joe B., you are correct. mah b.
parking expert,
couldnt agree more with the chad vs brett example…
if we still had chad they would be pressing and pressing but they have to give brett that extra cushion because he can launch the ball and he loves to do it
this is the big difference….
rasmusbach, on November 2nd, 2008 at 8:45 pm Said:
ye, great play by washington on the kickoff. seemed like the jets (all of them by the way) had to remind the ref about the rule. as much as i hate to admit it, i did see welker do the same thing when he was with the dolphins, though.
hey guys…what play is ras talking about here??
a FEW TOKES SHORT OF A BOWL!!!…….LOVE IT!……oh yeah,FANTASTIC TEAM WIN TODAY!
haven’t played this solidly all around since 98…
awesome team win…
elam, washington, jenkins, TJ……these guys are looking good….win next week and we play in NE in 2 weeks for sole possesion of 1st
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
J-E-T-S!!!!!
for the first time in a long time it feels good to be a jets fan. i mean i am always going to be in there corner, but having a share of the lead means alot after last season and many others in the past
about the game, i am a believer that teams win game not certain player. i know that if there is one positions that could change that it is the QB, but BF is not brook bollinger ( i forgot how to spell his name). i feel that people felt that brett was going to come to the jets and we were going to be the new team to beat. well we are not, its always going to be a battle to win game
a great match up next weekend, and then the hard stuff starts
i would go as far as to say, this is a must win
but anyway j e t s , jets jets jets
also can people please stop talking about chad.
plain and simple, chad was a cancer and brett could some how get us to the superbowl
A great STATEMENT win. Buffalo WAS undefeated at home. The Jets out-played the Bills in every phase of the game and the author was right, the Elam INT and the play on 4th and inches showed that the Jets defense dominated the Buffalo offense. The Bills had no answer for Jenkins. He was in the Bills backfield all day long and he had two punishing sacks. The Dolphins and Jets have exposed Trent Edwards. He can hit the underneath stuff, but if you take Evans away and control Lynch, Edwards isn’t good enough to put a team on his back and lead his team to victory.
I think that Favre’s INT was caused by Favre being bumped and underthrowing the pass a little. J. Co was well covered, but if Favre had gotten the ball over Greer, J. Co. had a lot of field in front of him. Again, I don’t think that was a “gambler” play. In fact, Favre’s patience, precision and effective short-passing was great the whole game. The signature drive for the offense, however, was that 8:41 drive after the INT that ended the game with a short FG by Feely. WOW, we finally saw the I, we finally saw Faneca pulling with Richardson as a lead blocker. That Buffalo front 7 is good and the Jets dominated them in the 4th quarter.
I agree that this team has not played its best game, yet. Harris has to come back on D and Favre has to throw TDs along with having the running game produce TDs. But, for now, I look at the schedule and don’t see a single game that the Jets can’t win. It all starts with the Rams next week. What a season!!!
klecko71 -
I’m assuming he means the play where Leon picked up the kickoff with one foot out of bounds so as to draw the penalty?
Great divisional, road win today. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually thought the play calling was solid.
As has been said many times on this site – Jenkins is simply a beast. We stop the run like I have not seen from a Jets team in quite some time.
Couple of things to note –
1) I think we were caught off guard again with a fake punt. Had there been no holding call on the bills that could’ve have been a real bad momentum changer.
2) Loved the way we ran the ball against a tough front 7 when they knew the run was coming. Good, solid, playoff caliber teams do that and we showed today that we can do it. We need to build on that.
3) what the hell is with our field goal kickers. Is it just me or do we miss a field goal a week? What’s up with Nugent? is he coming back? Not that he’s the answer, but for the love of pete can we get a reliable kicker.
All in all, big, big divisional road win. BRAVO.
Savor the moment, but it means nothing if we lay an egg next week.
Btw – are we quietly 2nd in the league with 29 sacks?
Final thought – to become one of the elite teams, we need to stop playing to the level of our competition.
We discovered the run. Glad the coaches didn’t overthink this one and my prediction was wrong. RUN RUN RUN!!!!!! WTG JETS
I know that I am a Favre apologist, but let’s not dwell on the INT. The Jets are playing better as a team. Brett should be given credit for the great 9 minute drive to eat up the clock. Even last week, he brought the team back in a two minute drill. Jet fans should remember that they were 4 and 12 last year. I want to know why are the Jets missing key field goals? If the Pack still had Favre, their record would be better than 4 and 4.
Yeah, good drive led by BF at the end. But c’mon, he was no more than a game manager yesterday and still managed to throw a pick-6. What I like about the Jets is that they won without having one player save them, like Leon against the Chiefs. Now, let’s make sure we beat a team we should beat, St. Louis, and NOT play down to their level.
I was so happy for Abram Elam. You can just tell he is one of those guys who break his back for you in practice. He has a rare nose for the run stuff but struggles against the pass. That pick 6 was something that could boost his confidence and maybe increase his role on the team. The defense won us that game and I liked what I saw.
not to sour the mood but, what was mangini thinking when he accepted that penalty, before elam’s intercept? did he have to take the penalty?
Brett was hitting those slants beautifully yesterday. Buffalo was throwing the house at him.
Awesome stand by the D on 4th down. Leon made the smartest play I’ve seen in forever with the foot out of bounds.
Gholsten looked like an old man on kickoff coverage, had to pick up his jock after a move.
Cant’s wait to get Harris, Nugent and Clowney back!
Team recovered from a horrible/sloppy first quarter to dominate a division opponent on the road. Awesome!
I’m glad we have Brett on our team. He can take us to the next level. Starting this Sunday!!!
okay now here are the real questions for next week…
1) can we stop steven jackson?
2) who should we be rooting for: Pats or Bills???
Nit pick, poor tackling. I admit that I thought that LW made a bonehead play with one foot out of bounds. What a turnaround that was! Very impressed that he knew that rule! Good coaching, again. Not much of the ‘fire the coaches’ talk, so far as I’ve read today.
One word of warning, don’t expect the level of play to all of a sudden staying at that high level. Some weeks just don’t go well. Take the good with the bad and stay focused on the long term good play of a team that wants to win.
Buffalo gets the Pats next and then the Jets. That should tell us all we need to know about the makeup of the AFC East.
We came into the game 4th in the NFL yielding 80 yards/game rushing and let up a stingy 30 yards to the Boy I Love Losing Superbowl BILLS. Stout run D, coupled with a solid run game and decent field position decided the game for the Green and White…
It’s too easy to knit-pick about Mangini accepting that penalty (although that would have been a huge momentum changer had Elam not stepped up with that pick 6) or Feely missing a 37 yarder (he was 4/5 on the day)- but Leon made the head-up play of the season for the Jets so far. I didn’t even know that rule existed and I was screaming when he deliberately stepped out of bounds… well that’s why I’m don’t train with Mike Westhoff.
it’s been a while since we’ve had a taste of FIRST PLACE this late- SOAK IT IN!!
Isn’t there anyone else we can try at the nickel and dime slots? This has killed us all year? What about Justin Miller? Or even Ahmad Carroll? How can they possibly be any worse than Drew Coleman?
IMHO, it’s the one area where if we can fix it, our defense can move from good to great.
Where is Ray Mickens when you need him.
I am a huge fan of TJ and wish they would give him the ball 18-25 times per week and let Leon get 10 touches. Althought I think LW can be a legit starter in this league. Similar to Westbrook.
TJ is like CMART. Pure grinder. Will wear you down. Can make a few moves and has decent speed once he gets through a hole and his pass catching ability was very impressive yesterday. Love this guy. Consumate professional.
Is it me or did he look quicker and more elusive yesterday?
If the Jets could run block like the Giants TJ would run for 1700.
Jenkins and Revis are complete STUDS.
Brett did a great job managing the game. Taking what they give him. This is what he did in Green Bay. Then once something opens up, he makes the big one. Still need to do a better job of protecting him.
Greer knew the exact route that JCo was running and ran it with him step for step and farve got hit on that play otherwise it probably just gets broken up.
What a shame we lost the Oakland game, we’d be 6-2 now. Great win though, probably the best of the season so far. This could be that defining game that sets the tone for the rest of the season. Go Jets!
Some of my thoughts….(where are u dakar!!)
1. leon will be an all time jet. 2 plays into the game he has 80 all purpose yards. and the play on the kickoff, sorry guys i had stepped away so didnt know he did that at the time, was one of the smartest football plays you will see.
2. the trade for jenkins should be forever listed in a top 10 trades of all time. (no u cant count the pats getting moss, he was basically donated to them for a 4th rd pick)
3. revis will be a pro bowler very soon, and will go down as one of our best draft picks ever.
4. play calling this week?? i give it a “B”. still came out in #$$@ shotgun first play after he revis strip sack. (killer play…gotta see more of that). and yes, one would hope your hall of fame QB wouldnt toss it up like favre did on that pick 6…but again…WHAT THE #$!! are you doing throwing with 10 min left up 2 scores. but AGAIN….schott is supposed to have faith that his all world QB would maybe eat the ball instead of making that throw, but it was a delayed blitz that was perfectly timed.
5. the drive following the pick 6…perfect playcalling, a nice mix, and again shows favre still has it. he has lead some amazing late drives this year thru 8 games!
we beat a well coached solid team….by dominating the line on both sides pretty much. what the hell mangini was thinking taking that penalty i have no idea…jesus eric, let em attempt the 41yd fg in the wind….aint worth it to push em back 5 freaking yards!!
wow that was a lame decision. we lose the game he gets DESTROYED for that call. maybe the elam pick is a sign from above that we actually might get some breaks the rest of the way!!
will enjoy reading the paper in a little while thats for sure….its november…..they are all big the rest of the way.
You can see that Brett is getting a feel for the Playbbook. The throws he makes over 15 yrds and up the middle are usually on the money. Give him 3 more Mississippis next week and we’ll see another 6 tds.
Thank you SackDance and Andrew! I completely agree! I was doing cartwheels when i saw the I formation on 3rd and 1yd. And I LOVED the handoff to Richardson for the first down! I believe the pick-6 was during a 5 receiver spread formation. ( Hmmmm wonder what’s coming?) I LOVED the win, but hated all the FGs in the redzone. Overall, a well played and well coached game!
bubby…the pick 6 came with 3 WR and a RB that we did play fake to…
kind of a mis-direction play fake….not one out of the “i” formation type… bills delayed blitz ended up with perfectly timed ht on favre.
still would rather see a safer play call there.
was worse to come out spread in shotgun on first play from the 6 yard line after the revis strip sack recovery..
why doesnt schott realize flooding the field with 4 WR when u have NO ROOM TO DO IT…is moronic.
Eddie C,
I would root for Buffalo. We beat them already and NE has dominated the division for too long. We need Buffalo to beat them up, physically. Eventually, we get Buffalo at home. We can put them back in their place, at the Meadowlands. Bottom line, I hope they kill each other.
Thanks Klecko for the info.
where was Stuckey?