JETS 17
CHARGERS 14
CHARGERS 14
Rex Ryan predicted his team should have been the favorites to win it all when the playoffs started a couple of weeks ago. Well, so far, it is two down and two to go for Gang Green.
The Jets are 60 football minutes away from a trip to Super Bowl XLIV, after they outplayed the San Diego Chargers 17-14 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.
The Jets found a way to hang around all afternoon with the Chargers, keeping the game scoreless in the first quarter and holding a powerful Chargers offense to seven points through three quarters.
The Jets got a couple of breaks in this game, as, for example, when Charers kicker Nate Kaeding missed three straight field goals to cost San Diego any chance of winning this game. Add that to the fact that Phillip Rivers was constantly harassed in the pocket all day, and he was sacked twice and picked off twice in the loss.
Much had been made about the match-up between Jets corner back Darrell Revis and Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson. Jackson had seven catches for 111 yards, but most of those catches came up the middle, when Jackson was not matched up with Revis.
The Jets did hold Antonio Gates to eight catches for 93 yards, and Malcom Floyd to three catches for 30 yards. Darren Sproles (3 rushes, 33 yards) and LaDainian Tomlinson (12 rushes 24 yards) were non-factors throughout the game.
Then things got really interesting late in the third quarter. With New York trailing 7-3, and with San Diego driving, Darrell Revis picked off Rivers after his pass bounced off of the foot of Jackson, who was tumbling to the ground with Revis. The ball landed in Revis' hands, who then got up and ran for six yards.
On the next San Diego possession, Rivers was picked off again by Jim Leonhard, who brought the ball back to the Chargers 16 yard line.
The Jets pounded the Chargers with Shonn Greene, setting up shop at the San Diego 4. Mark Sanchez then rolled right on third and goal to hit Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone to give the Jets a 10-7 lead. Whereupon, the Jets bench exploded in jubilation, and Qualcomm stadium fell dead silent.
In the fourth quarter, the Chargers needed to put together a big drive to halt the Jets momentum, but a huge hit by Kerry Rhodes on Rivers jarred the ball loose, forcing a fourth down punt.
On the next Jets possesion, Gang Green began to put the game away. Greene took the hand off, burst up the middle and found open space into which he raced 53 yards to pay dirt, giving the Jets a 17-7 lead.
But the Chargers were not done. Rivers led San Diego on a 30 yard drive to the Jets 22 yard line before giving way to Kaeding, who missed his third field goal of the day.
The Chargers would get the ball one more time, plugging it into the end zone on a Rivers one yard run with 2:14 to go.
Now the strategy. The Chargers had a timeout and the two minute warning in their pocket. All they needed to do was stop the Jets one more time and get the ball back with a chance to win the game.
Rex Ryan would have none of that. On a key third and six, the Jets pounded the ball up the middle with Greene who gained five yards to make it fourth and one. It was a no brainier that the Jets had to go for it if they wanted to end the game. Thomas Jones took the hand off and bulled his way over the first down marker to clinch the game with 50 seconds to go. Box score.
The Jets are heading to their first AFC title game since 1998, when the Vinny Testaverde and Bill Parcells led the Jets to a 23-10 loss to the Denver Broncos.
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