Final Score: Jets 29 - Vikings 20
By the numbers:
Passing
Sanchez : 21/44 - 191 yds - 59.9 Passer Rating
Rushing
NYJ : L. Tomlinson - 20 car 94 yds 4.7 ypc
S. Greene - 10 car 57 yds 5.7 ypc 1 TD
Receiving
NYJ : B. Edwards - 5 rec 70 yds
J. Cotchery - 5 rec 46 yds
S. Holmes - 3 rec 41 yds
D. Keller - 2 rec 14 yds
First Downs
NYJ - 20
MIN- 16
3rd Down Efficiency
NYJ - 5-17
MIN - 7-15
Turnovers
NYJ - 0
MIN - 3
Penalties
NYJ - 6-55
MIN - 8-51
Time of Possession
NYJ - 33:55
MIN - 26:05
OK everyone. Clearly this victory can be described as "Escape From New York". Without Kurt Russell of course. After dominating close to 3 quarters of play, the Jets got a little sloppy on both sides of the ball and almost let a very gut wrenching loss take place at the hands of one my most hated athletes.
Brett Favre.
Thankfully that didn't happen and that was mostly due to the physicality the Jets imposed on the Vikes early on in this game. From the start, a message was sent that if you were going to come into this house you better be prepared to fight your way out. The defense established the line of scrimmage from the 1st snap. They never let Peterson get out in space and when contact was made he was hit. Of course we all know what followed on 3rd down. The Jets came with the blitz and it was highly effective. Drew Coleman came on a weak side corner blitz set up beautifully by Calvin Pace's decoy wide rush opening the lane to Favre and the sack.
All of this allowed the offense to get more chances to put points on the board which they did. The problem was they were scoring the wrong kind of points. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that FG's are a waste of a possession. They're not unless you have to settle for them instead of punching the ball into the end zone. This was the case for most of the night. The "O" would move the ball with some flow and efficiency only to have the drive stall. A lot of that can be attributed to the Vikings defense who came to play. However, a bigger factor was responsible for the lack of TD's in the red zone. That was the suspect play calling of Brian Schottenheimer. He fell into one of his historical moods where he gets too cute with the playbook and tries to out think the opponent.
You're not playing chess Schotty. Just line up and play ball.
This was the 1st half in a nutshell. The defense was impressive while the offense at times sputtered down the field toward 3 FG which included an impressive 53 yarder from Folk who is very quietly becoming clutch while shedding the bad taste he left behind in Dallas.
9 - 0 Jets.
The second half is where this one got very interesting.
After playing in a monsoon towards the end of the 2nd quarter you just knew that the rest of the night was going to be plagued with lousy conditions. The Jets would go 3 and out to start the 3rd quarter. Not a good start to the half but the drive was going to be tough to navigate after Sanchez got sacked following the 1st play. The play called was a good one. Schottenheimer went with a play action bootleg right. Everyone on the Viking defense bit on the play except the one guy who needed to be faked out the most. Left DE Ray Edwards read the play perfectly and drills Sanchez into the ground for a 10 yard loss. So now the Vikings get the ball and I'm thinking this can't be good. All night the Jets have kept Favre, Peterson, Harvin and Moss in check. Sooner or later they were going to put a drive together and get right back into this game.
It just didn't happen on this possession because after the kick. Favre fumbles the ball trying to hand it off to Peterson. The ball gets kicked around until Revis picks it up and scampers 10 yards to the Minnesota 46 yard line.
It's here I'm thinking that if the Jets can get this one into the end zone it would break the Vikes and jump start the offense. The Jets went to the ground and it was working. The drive got to the Viking 16 yard line. Until 3rd and 3 when Sanchez drops back to throw, finds Keller for a sure 1st down but he drops the pass. Enter Folk for another FG that he makes.
12 - 0 Jets.
The Jets and Vikes would trade the next 2 possessions.
Then it happened.
The one thing I was afraid of all night when the Jets kept settling for 3's. Minnesota got on a sustained drive and on a 3rd and 17 play from the Jets 37 yard line, Favre threw a rainbow pass toward the end zone that fell right into Randy Moss' hands. BANG! The Vikings got right back into the game.
12 - 7 Jets
A lot was being made about this play because it was Favre's 500th TD pass but I couldn't give a flying fuck about that. I went back and broke down the play and saw 2 things that helped the Vikes get on the board.
1) Obviously I have to start with Cromartie's coverage. The so called "experts" after the game went a bit overboard saying that Cromartie got beat and was in poor position. This is simply NOT TRUE! Cromartie was covering Moss perfectly. He had the inside position so he could use the sideline as an extra defender. For the most part he was running step for step with Moss. If anything, Randy had a little bit of a lead but in no way, shape or form was he toasting "Cro". Finally, the pass was perfect. It was thrown at Moss's back shoulder which is impossible for a CB to defend if he has the inside position. You couldn't drop a ball into a receiver's hands from 1 foot away better than the way this pass fell into Moss' hands. As much as I hate to do this but I have to give credit where it's due and Favre threw an amazing pass in the face of a blitz. This leads me to point #2.
2) The Jets were in their dime package and came with a double safety blitz from the left side. This meant that they were in man to man coverage the rest of the play. The Vikings were in shotgun with a 3 receiver formation. 2 up top and Moss singled up at the bottom. Revis was on Berrian up top, Wilson was on Harvin in the slot and Cromartie was on Moss. SS Jim Leonhard was faking a double coverage look on Harvin while FS Brodney Pool appeared to be helping Cromartie double Moss. Right before the snap, Pool starts to creep toward the line of scrimmage indicating he's blitzing. When Favre snaps the ball he sees Moss 1 on 1 with Cromartie and throws the ball up. Leonhard was supposed to give Cromartie help over the top but because he was so far over on the other side of the field selling the double coverage on Harvin, there was no way he could get over in time to help Cromartie. Leonhard needed to be a little closer toward Moss' side of the field. If he was, he might have been able to be a better help on the play. The other thing that was key on this play was Pool's poor timing on the blitz. He needed to be away from the line to sell the coverage fake but he went toward the line of scrimmage way too late. The result was Favre having enough time to get set and throw the bomb. This is a result of Pool not being in sync with the rest of the secondary since he's only been on the field for 2 weeks after suffering an ankle injury in the preseason.
After the hoopla surrounding Favre's milestone, the Jets kept the pressure on and it began with the kickoff. Brad Smith takes the kick 5 yards deep in the end zone and runs 86 yards to the Viking 19 yard line. The Jets were back in business but once again they couldn't get into the endzone. Folk kicked his 5th and final FG of the night to give the Jets a little more breathing room.
15 - 7 Jets
Too bad it didn't last very long.
We move on to the 4th quarter. After a 30 yard Peterson run, the Vikings went to the air again and this time they picked on Revis. Normally this would be a very stupid move. If you were throwing at a healthy Darrelle Revis which we found out on this play that he wasn't. On 3rd and 19 from the Jets 34 yard line. Favre floated a pass to Percy Harvin crossing the field. He caught it and flew past every other defender in the area for the score. The Vikings inexplicably went for 2. Cromartie picks off the pass. 2 point try fails. This would come back to bite the Vikes later on.
15 - 13 Jets
I went back and looked at the Harvin TD and saw what went wrong. Revis was playing off Harvin at the line. Percy ran a simple circle drag route across the field and Revis couldn't stay with him. He wasn't running at top speed and Harvin lost him in the traffic. The Jets were playing man to man on the outside with a rover zone coverage over the middle. That rover was Kyle Wilson. Harvin ran right behind Wilson who was eye balling Favre the entire time and never had a chance to make a play on the ball. This play falls more on Revis' inability to cover Harvin from the beginning but Wilson needed to recognize where the ball was going. He was spying Favre the whole time so common sense would dictate that if you are keying on the QB, he will tell you where the ball is going. On this play He looked Harvin's way almost from the snap to the throw.
This play exposed more than just a miscommunication in the coverage. It sent a message to the rest of the league that Revis is still banged up and that he can be thrown on. He should have never been on the field but because of his competitive nature and Ryan's feeling that he needed Revis, it may have compromised the rest of the year. This injury by most indications was going to take 4 weeks at minimum to heal. Revis played after a little over 2 and a half weeks. The Jets should have sat him out for this one. With 1 more game before the bye, it should have been enough rest and time for him to come back at full strength. Now we are forced to deal with the wait and see process and you can't have that when the team's best player is concerned.
Returning to the recap.
Both teams would trade possessions without scoring until the 7:06 mark of the 4th. The Jets had the ball and engineered a great drive that ended with a 23 yard TD run by Shonn Greene. This play was run masterfully. It was a zone blocking cutback run. The key to the play was a great block by John Conner. The Terminator plastered E.J. Henderson trying to make the tackle. This block created the seal that sprung Greene to the end zone. A well executed run by the NFL's best running team.
22 - 13 Jets
That score gave me a very comfortable feeling. I didn't think the Vikings had any fight left in them after the back and forth scoring. I was wrong. Favre was hot and he chewed up big chunks of yards in very little time. The final play was an 11 yard TD pass to Harvin in the back of the end zone. This was another pretty pass that ended up in either his guy's hands or it was out of bounds. Harvin caught the pass leaping in the air. Leonhard covering tried to push him out of bounds before both feet got in but Harvin did a great job dropping both feet in. The coverage was a mismatch from the beginning and Favre knew it. Harvin stands at 5' 11" and Leonhard tips the ruler at 5' 8". Advantage Harvin. Especially since Leonhard isn't 5' 8" that's complete bullshit. At best he's 5' 6" maybe 5' 7". The guy plays hrd and has the heart of a lion but it's just too much for him to ask to cover bigger receivers when ALL of them are bigger than him.
22 - 20 Jets
We now move to the most gut wrenching moments of the game. The last 3:09.
The Jets had the ball and you just prayed for a couple of 1st downs which would have iced the game. The possession started off that way. A 2 yard run by Tomlinson followed by an 11 yard pass to Holmes. The Vikings burned their last 2 timeouts on those 2 plays so all the Jets had to do was play some smart clock football and we're going home smiling.
OOPS!
After the Vikings last timeout there was 2:47 left on the clock they ran the exact same 2 plays on the drive. A run by LT for -1 yard then they threw it. This is where Schottenheimer getting too cute almost cost them the game. The pass was another slant to Holmes.
3 things went wrong on the play.
1) Sanchez snapped the ball with 7 seconds left on the play clock.
2) The pass was incomplete stopping the clock before the 2 min warning.
3) THE PLAY SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN CALLED!!!!!!
Because you tried to out think the other sideline you ended up out smarting yourself. I realize that Schottenheimer never counted on Sanchez snapping the ball early but that wouldn't have been and issue IF THE PLAY WAS A RUN!!!! Running the ball on 2nd down guarantees the clock goes to the 2 min warning if not past it depending on the result of the play. Instead you pass and the clock stops. Now you have to pass on 3rd and 11 to end the game. What does Minnesota do? They blitzed, flushing Sanchez out of the pocket and forcing him to throw a desperation pass to Edwards down the left sideline.
Incomplete. 2 minute warning.
This was some of the worst late game clock management I have seen in a while. This took me back to the dare I say it Herm Edwards era where he would use all of his 2nd half timeouts on 1 drive. Then he would wonder why he doesn't have any when he needs them later. This was surprising to see considering that Rex and co. have been pretty good at time management. Everyone has their off days but you can't be off in the last 2 minutes of a tight game.
Now Favre gets the ball back with 1:48 needing just a FG to escape the New Meadowlands with a crazy comeback win. I was ready to turn the TV off and go to bed. After all the missed opportunities to score TD's and the defense's inability to stop Favre down the stretch, I just knew this game was over. But then I remembered something very important.
Brett Favre is the master of closing a game out....FOR THE OTHER TEAM!
After the kick off. Favre tries the home run ball to Moss but Cromartie would have none of that.
Incomplete. 2nd and 10. Next was the play of the game.
The Jets came with a blitz and Favre beat the pressure and found a WIDE OPEN Percy Harvin. He completes this pass and he's gone to the house for 6. Favre over throws Harvin badly missing him by a mile. Jets dodged a HUGE bullet here.
Incomplete. 3rd and 10.
We now come to what was for me sweet justice. Favre drops back to throw and is blitzed again. He sidesteps the pressure and throws a poor pass right into the hands of Dwight Lowery who high steps his way 26 yards into the end zone for the game ending pick 6. What a way to end the game. Once again the great, magnificent, invincible, do no wrong Brett Favre threw ANOTHER game ending interception.
29 - 20 Jets
I couldn't watch that play enough.
It should come as no secret to anyone that I HATE BRETT FAVRE with every fiber of my being. I can't stand how he continues to dodge criticism when he makes ridiculous plays. If any other QB made the bonehead plays he makes they would be run out of town faster than you can say "HIKE". As Jets fans we saw his bullshit 1st hand in 2008 so you don't need any more proof from me. So watching him once again make a stupid play that cost his team a potential win was just music to my eyes.
Having said that I do have to give the man his due. He leads the world in practically every statistical category for a QB. We all know the TD's and Yards but here are some that you might not be aware of.
1) Interceptions - 324 NFL record
2) Interceptions returned for Touchdowns - 31 Currently the active leader.
3) Fumbles - 163 NFL record
I like those stats better.
Did you really think I was going to give him props for any positive stats?
Fuck you and your tendinitis filled elbow Brett! Nothing would please me more than to see you spend the rest of the season rotting away in mediocrity!!!!
That's a wrap on the recap. Now it's time for some Quick Hits.
1) So much for the Williams Wall....The Jets ran over, around and through the Vikings vaunted rushing defense for a grand total of 155 yards. That is the most rushing yards the Vikes have given up to a team in 51 regular season games. Ground and Pound baby!
2) The "D" keeps putting up goose eggs....For the 5th straight game, the defense has not allowed a 1st quarter point. Say what you want about this unit but it's pretty hard to get in a game if you haven't scored in the 1st 15 minutes.
3) Take care of the ball and it will take care of you....The Jets have played turnover free ball for the 4th straight game. They lead the NFL in turnover ratio at +11. The only turnover the Jets committed was Shonn Greene's fumble in Week 1.
4) Welcome back Calvin....Calvin Pace's 1st game back from foot surgery was pretty good. 3 tackles, 3 QB hits and 1.5 sacks. Not a bad day at the office. His return to the "D" is a much needed boost to the pass rush and the run defense which is pretty stout enough.
5) How do you spell versatile? B-R-A-D S-M-I-T-H....Very quietly or maybe not so quietly now, Brad Smith has become an invaluable member to this team overall. His expertise in the wildcat offense is getting more and more impressive and his special teams play is severely underrated. This guy is a jack of all trades that provides stability to so many areas of the team.
6) The Vikings have one of the games best pass rushers in Jared Allen. How did they stop him? They put a "Brick" wall in front of him....The offensive line had another monster game. Highlighted collectively by the dominating rushing stats put up but the individual highlight has to go to D'Brickashaw Ferguson. He had his best game of the season against a ferocious DE. Jared Allen is in the Mario Williams, Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney class of D-ends if not better and Brick stoned him all night long. Sanchez's blind side was protected like there was a force field behind him. That's all #60. He keeps this up he'll be playing in Hawaii as a starter and not an injury alternate.
7) Hey Randy, Welcome to Cromartie Island....With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Revis vs Moss II. It ended up being Antonio Cromartie's night to shine. He absolutely shut down Moss again. And I don't want to hear that Moss wasn't familiar with the offense and didn't know the playbook. You don't need to know the playbook when all you're doing is running in a straight line as fast as you can. All Favre did was throw go routes to him and Cromartie locked that down. He is getting better in this system every week. If he keeps this up it will be hard to let him walk at the end of the year.
8) Keep your faith in your Defense and your faith will be rewarded....After a complete ass whuppin in the 1st half. The Jets "D" began to weaken. Some of their blitzes were being picked up leaving Favre too much time to find an open man going up against 1 on 1 coverage. But when it came down to crunch time, King Rex stayed with the blitz and it paid off big time. On the pick 6 play, Ryan called another double safety blitz. Leonhard came from the left and Marquice Cole came from the right. Cole's pressure forced Favre to throw off balance and off his back foot allowing Lowery to jump the route and pick off the pass. King Rex showed faith in his defense's ability to make a play when they had to and it won them a football game.
9) Sanchez continues to show why we drafted him #5 overall....It's pretty clear that this wasn't his best game. He was off for most of the night. His passes were inaccurate and very high. He very luckily avoided at least 3 picks by my count. However, he did make plays when he had to and showed a ton of poise in the pocket. He needs to do a better job in the red zone but he's keeping the ball away from the other colored jersey and that's always a good thing. He was also victimized by his receivers dropping balls. There were at least 5 dropped passes that all would have resulted in 1st downs.
10) Why were the Jets playing "Where's Waldo" with Keller....For some insane reason, the Jets forgot to feed Keller the ball. The Vikings run a base cover 2 defense. The best weapon against that scheme is a TE running along the seam. Keller only caught 2 passes and was targeted only 5 times. That's not enough. He needs to be a more sought after option in the passing game. I think a lot of this had to do with Santonio Holmes' return. Sanchez was making a constant effort to get him involved so he looked and threw a lot his way but you can't do that at the expense of someone else who's open. On several of the deep balls that Sanchez threw to Holmes, Keller was running alone. Keller's involvement in the passing game will only help get Santonio more passes his way. Don't forget #81 just because you have a new toy to play with.
11) It's time for Revis to respect Randy....The newly formed rivalry between Moss and Revis is fun to watch but there is a very big difference to how each man handles their victories or defeats against each other. Revis talks a ton of trash, some of it warranted and some of it just straight up shit talk. Revis has called Moss a slouch and that he quits when he's not getting the ball. That is true but it doesn't change the fact that Moss is a playmaker and has been his entire career. On the other side, Moss has given nothing but props to Revis. Including after this game. He commended Revis for coming back and playing hard coming off his hamstring injury. That he's one of the games best corners and has earned the praise he's been getting. That's pretty classy stuff from a diva WR.
Now it's time for King Rex's quote of the game.
Question:
"What happened on the crossing route to Harvin? Was Darrelle supposed to hand him off to someone?
King Rex's Response:
The actual answer is not the quote of the game. The quote came after his answer about the TD
"I just thought this was a typical Jet win. Resilient, team effort all the way against an excellent football team and I'm just proud of the way our guys competed all the way to the end. Made a great play on defense....D-Lo did (Lowery) and shoot we'll take the victory. We're not apologizing for anything."
That pretty much summed up the game. It wasn't pretty but we'll take it. There are no style points in the NFL and when you can come away with a win like this when your offense isn't clicking and your defense suffers a hiccup late you can feel good that this team does not panic under the hot lights. The Jets are showing that they'll kick your ass when everything is on the up and up and now they've shown the ability to fight for every inch until they come out with the higher score at the end.
Up next is a date with the Broncos in Mile High. Revis is uncertain he will play. Just do everyone a favor and just sit him out. Get him 2 more weeks of rest and treatment before they play the Packers on Halloween. If the Jets pull this one out on the road it will be a huge win heading into the bye week. Especially with the Ravens taking on the Patriots the same day. I never thought I would say this but I'm a Ravens fan this coming Sunday.
5-1 here we come? We'll see.
That's all I got....Now Let's Go Eat A God Damn Snack!
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