Same Old Jets Rear Their Ugly Heads Again

BRONCOS 34

JETS 17

Hey, guess what? You can take those Jets Super Bowl tickets and stick 'em where the moon don't shine! For the fortieth straight season the Jets will be doomed for failure because they are who we thought they were. The Jets are back to being ... well ... the Jets. Not even Brett Favre could save Jetland from the type of play that we have seen year after year, and decade after decade from this team better known as Gag Green.

The Jets did everything in their power to not only lose a game, but completely blew their chances at grabbing the number two seed in the AFC playoffs. Yes, the Jets will win the AFC East because the Patriots lost again today to Pittsburgh, but the Jets will have to not only go to Tennessee but will have to fly to Pittsburgh as well if they want to get to the Super Bowl. In other words, FUGGEDABOUTIT!

The game got off to a whacky start. Favre tried to do a double reverse to Jerricho Cothery, but Cothery lost the handle on the ball. Cothery was able to recover the fumble and was tackled at the Jets 30, but the ball trickled out from underneath Cothery's belly, and Denver's Vernon Fox picked it up and dashed into the end zone from 23 yards out. Eric Mangini tried to challenge the play, but according to some stupid rule, the Jets could not challenge Cothery's second fumble even though it was clear that he was tackled after the first recovery.

Anyway, the Broncos got away with one and would keep up the pressure all night long.

The Jets did answer the gift wrapped touchdown as Thomas Jones broke free of a couple of tacklers and skated 58 yards for the tying touchdown. Still, it was not enough to stop the Broncos. Jay Cutler from hitting a wide open Eddie Royal down the sideline for a 59 yard touchdown. It appeared that Royal may have stepped out of bounds on the play, but it didn't matter, touchdown Broncos.

From here the Jets went into a proverbial hole. They got the game to within 17-14, but Favre was picked off by Dre' Bly after he badly overthrew Cothery at the Broncos 35. The Broncos proceeded to pound the rock on the Jets. Third string running back Peyton Hillis had a huge night, gashing and slashing the Jets defensive line. One reason the Jets had so much trouble stopping Hillis, was the fact that DT Kris Jenkins was constantly double-teamed, allowing the back to look like Terrell Davis. Hillis took it in from one yard out to give Denver a 10 point lead.

In the third, the Jets finally got it going. Favre hit Leon Washington for a 34 yard gain to get the ball to the Denver 33 yard line. Favre hit Washington two more times for gains of 14 and 12 to get the ball to the Denver goal line. Interestingly enough, after each Jets gain, a Bronco defender fell limply the ground. Was it a strategic tactic by coach Mike Shanahan? Perhaps, and if it was, it was brilliant! The Jets got out of their rhythmn becuase of the Denver injuries. Favre was sacked and stripped of the football on a huge third and goal to force a Jay Feely field goal. The score now became 27-17. Once again, the Jets were down ten.

Whenever New York got to within ten and was in position to cut deep into the Denver lead, the Jets found a way to screw it up, whether it was stupid turnovers or penalties. The Jets may have been at Giants Stadium physically, but they were not there mentally, and it may have cost them a huge playoff spot.

Cutler and the Broncos put the finishing touches on the game when he found a wide open Brandon Stokley stading in the end zone waiting for the ball to drop into his arms. 34-17. Ball Game over.

The Jets are now 8-4 on the season, a game ahead of Miami and New England in the AFC East. They also trail the Steelers by a game for the number two seed. Also, if the Jets and Broncos should finish with the same record, Denver now owns a tie-breaker that could drop the Jets to the fourth seed. What a disaster, but we have seen this movie one million times before.