Jets Pride

Week 20. Sunday, January 24, 2010. For 30 minutes, you could believe it might happen. The New York Jets led the Indianapolis Colts at half time 17-6. The defense was effective and so was Sanchez. But, in the second half, the Jets lost running back Shonn Greene to an injury and the defense faltered. The Colts defense also turned it on and held Sanchez and the Jets scoreless in the second half. Mark Sanchez was 17 of 30 for the day with 257 yards, two touchdowns (both in the first half) and a late interception. Jay Feely was 1 for 3 on field goal attempts, one from 52 yards. For more on this game, see this article. Next season holds a lot of promise for the New York Jets, so stay tuned.

Week 19. Sunday, January 18, 2009. The New York Jets defeated the San Diego Chargers 17-14 to move on the AFC championship game. The Chargers were on a 11 game win streak before this loss which eliminated them from the playoffs. The Jets scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and held the Chargers to under 20 points for the first time this season. San Diego missed two field goal attempts (from 36 and 57 yards) which of course didn’t help their chances. The Jets intercepted twice while Sanchez threw only one interception. Next game: Sunday, January 24th, 3:00 PM, New York @ Indianapolis Colts.

Week 18. Saturday, January 9, 2010. The New York Jets defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for the second week in a row, this time in the wild card playoff. In one of his best games thus far, Mark Sanchez kept his cool and made no mistakes. He threw 12 for 15 for 182 yards with one one touch down pass and no interceptions. His passer rating was 139.4. Sanchez is only the fourth rookie quarterback to win a playoff game. Kicker Jay Feely had cover for punter Steve Weatherford (and did an outstanding job) who was found to have an irregular heartbeat just before the game. The running game was led by Shonn Green who finsihed with 135 yards on 21 carries. The defense was excellent again although the Bengals’ Cedric Benson had a good day, rushing for 169 yards. Next the Jets face the red hot San Diego Chargers. Next game: Sunday, Jan. 17th, 4:40 Pm EST, New York @ San Diego.

Week 17. Sunday, January 3, 2010. The New York Jets shut out the Cincinnati Bengals tonight 37-0. The Jets dominated the game both defensively and offensively. The Jets started it off by scoring on their first possession on a 57 yard run by Brad Smith followed immediately by a 1 yard touchdown run by Thomas Jones. Early in the second quarter the Jets missed a chance to score from the one yard line and settled for a Jay Feely field goal. The Jets scored three more times in the second quarter; a 32 yard TD run by Brad Smith, a touchdown pass by Mark Sanchez and on an interception with a half minute left that led to a field goal. At the end of the half, the Jets led 27-0. The Jets had 250 total yards; the Bengals, 7. Cincinnati’s only first down in the first half came on five yard penalty. The Jets added to their total early in the third quarter with another Jay Feely field goal from 40 yards. The Bengals got down to the Jets 10 yard line in the third quarter but a series of penalties pushed them back to the 25 yard line and they had to punt the ball away. The Jets final touchdown score came in the fourth quarter after the defense sacked the Bengals quarterback forcing a fumble. A few plays later Thomas Jones ran it it for the touchdown. Totals for the game: NY Jets 320 total yards; Sanchez was 8 for 16 for 63 passing yards. The number one defense in the NFL held Cincinnati to 72 total yards for the game. This was the Jets best game of the season and they finish end the season 9-7. So, the playoffs begin. Next game: Saturday, Jan. 9th, 4:30 PM, New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals.