Jets Capitalize on Inept Jaguars To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The New York Jets (6-7) survived for at least one more week as they defeated the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 17-10. For anyone that thinks the offensive performance provided any confidence among the fan base, you are mistaken. Mark Sanchez–who is roughly one bad-half away from being permanently placed on the bench–passed for 111 yards, did not throw for a touchdown while losing another fumble. The fumble was his 45th turnover over the past two seasons. Entering halftime, the Jets were down 3-0 for the second consecutive week and it appeared Rex Ryan would be forced to put in backup QB Tim Tebow to spark the offense. The mere fact that Tebow was listed as the backup was controversial in itself. Despite being inactive the week prior due to his rib injury–while Greg McElroy led the lone scoring-drive–Ryan chose to dress him as opposed to McElroy. The game was nearly 10-0 entering halftime, as Jeremy Kerley lost a fumble which was picked up and returned for a touchdown by the Jaguars. Upon review, however, it was ruled that the returner, former Jet Dwight Lowery, was down by contact prior to gaining his footing and scampering into the end zone. It was a huge break for the Jets who did not display any life on offense in the first half. It also would’ve made it two weeks in a row that the Jets were burnt by former players, with Kerry Rhodes intercepting Sanchez twice in the previous week. The second half was much different as the running game exploited the porous Jaguars defense. Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell formed a dynamic duo as both of the backs found the end zone, Green on a 1-yard run and Powell from 4-yards out. It could create a bit of a running back committee scenario considering Powell rushed for one more yard than Green (78 to 77) on one less carry (20 to 19). The bright spot was the defense in this game. They held the Jaguars to 168 passing yards, and an abysmal 2-for-16 on third down conversions. They did allow them to convert all three fourth down conversions, including one on 4th & 15 late in the fourth quarter which temporarily put the game in jeopardy. The drive ultimately ended with Ellis Lankster making an easy interception to effectively end the game, Chad Henne’s second of the game. The first was on a tipped pass by Garett McIntyre which landed in the arms of Bart Scott, his first interception since 2006. The Jets did not silence many critics with the victory. They have not had a convincing win all season, aside from beating the Wild Card leading Indianapolis Colts 35-9 in Week 6. Next week the Jets will receive another gift from the schedule makers as they will play against the 4-9 Tennessee Titans on Monday night. They nearly received all the help from their AFC competition, as the Pittsburgh Steelers were defeated by San Diego and the Cincinnati Bengals were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys. The only thing that did not go their way was the Titans, who blew a 13-point halftime lead against the Colts. The 6-7 Jets kept their slim playoff hopes alive and considering their remaining schedule could they become the most dysfunctional and unlikely/undeserving playoff team of all time? They may also be without another of their offensive threats, Stephen Hill, who left the game with an apparent knee injury. They can ill-afford more injuries especially on the offensive side of the ball.