Jets destroy dreadful Chiefs; tentatively in playoffs

JETS 37
CHIEFS 10

If someone told you after the New York Jets got stunned by Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos four weeks ago that they would be in the thick of the playoff hunt with three weeks to go in the regular season, would you consider that person a falling down drunk?

Think again. The Jets are indeed in the thick of the playoff race after they dropped the absolutely dreadful Kansas City Chiefs 37-10 to improve to 8-5. Not only did Gang Green win the game, but they got a lot of help. The New Orleans Saints beat the Tennessee Titans 22-17, and the Houston Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-19 to propel the Jets into the number six seed in the AFC playoffs! If the season ended today, the Jets would face the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs.

The Jets needed a solid performance against a dreadful team having toyed with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins the past two weeks, two games the Jets could have easily lost if it weren't for a break here and there.

The Jets never had to sweat against a Chiefs football team that barely mustered 221 yards of total offense, had no ground game, and watched Tyler Palko play like a complete buffoon. Basically, call it a cake walk for Gang Green.

The Jets wasted little time in disposing of the Chiefs. On the opening drive of the day, Shonn Greene, who has come under heavy scrutiny this year for his poor running, broke off a 31 yard run on the Jets first play of the day to move the Gang into KC territory. Later in the drive, Mark Sanchez hit Dustin Keller twice, for gains of 11 and seven yards to move the ball to the Chiefs five. Finally, Sanchez took it in himself, giving the Jets a 7-0 lead.

For his part, Sanchez enjoyed a decent game. He completed 13 of his 21 passes for 181 yards with two touchdowns and became the first Jets quarterback to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in the same game, a feat, if you consider the number of lousy quarterbacks in Jets history, that is nothing to get too excited about.

Anyhow, the Jets exploded big time in the second quarter, scoring 21 points and putting this game away before halftime. After Palko was picked off by Jim Leonhard, Sanchez connected with Greene on a bubble screen, and Greene did the rest, chugging for 36 yards to the Chiefs two yard line. Two plays later, Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to give the Jets a 14-3 lead.

One very important note here is Leonhard. After making the interception Leonhard fell to the ground in a heap and had to be carted off the field and into the locker room. It was later reported that he had a knee injury and it is likely that he will miss the rest of the season. This will mark the second straight year that Leonhard will miss the stretch run for the Jets due to an injury. Without Leonhard, the Jets already spotty defense will be tested big time for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Jets offense continued to pour it on. Shonn Greene added to his brilliant afternoon, scoring on a seven yard run to give the Jets a 21-3 lead, and Sanchez connected with LaDainian Tomlinson on a 19 yard touchdown to blow it open at 28-3.

So, what do we learn about the Jets from this game? Nothing.

We learned nothing about the Jets after they clobbered a horrible football team, for, now, the Jets have a very difficult stretch run with the Eagles, Giants and Dolphins on the docket. If the Jets plan to hold on to the number six seed they have to win two or more of these games. That will be very difficult to do, considering the Eagles are playing hard for coach Andy Reid, the Giants are playing for a divisional title, and the Dolphins, who have been playing well of late, are playing very hard for coach Tony Sparano, and would love to TKO the Jets from the playoffs.

For a Jets team that has been on shaky ground all season, it is sure to be an equally shaky finish. Buckle up, Jets fans; it looks like a bumpy road ahead.