Jets' QB Mark Sanchez, left; Pats' QB Tom Brady, right.

That’s right — the Jets have won 2 in a row, and New England has lost 2 straight.  I don’t care that our victories came against the Panthers and Bills, while the Patriots fell to significantly stronger teams in the Saints and Dolphins.  As the saying goes: a win is a win; and in this case, two wins are two wins for us.

Now we’re just one game back of the first place Pats — albeit tied with Miami, who unfortunately holds the tiebreaker with us having won both of our meetings this season.  But let’s take it one week at a time here… After our next game against a pretty mediocre Tampa Bay team, we do encounter quite a difficult Atlanta, at Indianapolis, Cincinnati.  The Colts, as you probably know, are still undefeated at 12-0.  However, if they were to lose one of their next two (Denver, at Jacksonville) prior to playing us, they would no longer have the “undefeated regular season” goal in mind.  And if they have already wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by that point, there’s even a chance they could rest some of their starters, or only play them for a half.  It will be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks leading up to our meeting with the Colts plays out.

As for our win against Buffalo last Thursday, aside from Mark Sanchez hurting his knee for the second week in a row (this time the right one), all went reasonably well.  Our league-best rushing attack was at it once again, running all over the Bills for 249 total yards.  The defense also held its own, allowing just 194 total offensive yards for the game, and only 36 in the entire second half.

After Sanchez hurt his left knee the week before against Carolina, the Jets had New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi come in and give the rookie quarterback sliding lessons — to hopefully prevent Sanchez from being so susceptible to such injuries as the ones he experienced the last two games.  Sanchez’s most recent knee injury came on a headfirst dive early in the third quarter Thursday night.  I’m pretty sure he didn’t learn that from Girardi…

Jets head coach Rex Ryan is optimistic that Sanchez will be able to play this weekend at Tampa Bay.  If not, backup quarterback Kellen Clemens — who saw limited action the last two weeks when replacing Sanchez — will be ready to take his place and start.

With our defense having underperformed in recent weeks, and our passing game being pretty ineffective as well, at least one of the two needed to improve significantly, and the D really stepped up this past weekend.  One of the standouts who definitely deserves mentioning is Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, who had 2 of the Jets’ 4 interceptions on Sunday, running one of them back 67 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.  Revis, who many have argued is the best CB in the league right now, put New York (5-6) up 7-0 early — a lead they would never relinquish.  “That was a sigh of relief,” Revis said.  “That was an easy score right there.  It doesn’t get any better than that to start us off.”

It’s always a good feeling when your team scores first in a game, and especially in one which you absolutely need to win to keep any hopes of making the playoffs alive.  And that’s exactly what this game was — and just about every one from here on out will be.

While he may not have been playing all that well lately, our rookie quarterback — “The Sanchize,” which he is often referred to as — did give us Jets fans a bit of a scare Sunday when he took a while to get up after being tackled out of bounds on a QB scramble.  Having hurt his left knee, he only missed one offensive series (4 plays), and was back in action for the next drive, during which his first pass was intercepted.  Luckily, it didn’t cost us the game, as his mistakes have done multiple times over the course of this season.  But then again, he IS just a rookie…

Sanchez should play against Bills

Looking ahead to Week 13, we are playing the Thursday game against Buffalo (4-7), so we have a short week to prepare.  We still have some hope of sneaking into the playoffs, with both the Pats (7-4) and Dolphins (5-6) losing this week.  However, we still have a ways to go.  All we can do is take it one week at a time…

A victorious Peyton Manning shares a postgame handshake with a scowling Tom Brady.

Wow.  WHAT.  A.  GAME…

I know this is a Jets blog, but as a HUGE Jets fan and an even BIGGER Patriots hater (yup, in this case I’m proud to be a hater, regardless of its negative connotation), I simply HAVE TO comment on the undoubtedly infamous late-4th quarter collapse by the boys from New England.  Had they punted the ball on 4th-and-2  at their own 28-yard line, yes, the Colts still could’ve come back to win, but it would’ve been a hell of a lot more difficult than the situation the Patriots gave them by failing to convert on 4th down with just 2:08 remaining in such a crucial game as this one.

With the loss now, the Pats (6-3) are not only 3 full games behind the still-undefeated Colts (9-0), but technically they are four games behind them, as Indianapolis now holds the tiebreaker over New England if they were to finish the season with the same record (likely to be tops in the AFC).  While football fans all over the country couldn’t have asked for a much better nationally-televised rivalry game between arguably the NFL’s two premier quarterbacks of the decade, it could’ve easily ended in an outcome with a significantly different result with regard to playoff scenarios and seeding.  But let me re-emphasize that I am glad it did not, as it means my Jets are still very much alive in the playoff hunt, whereas they would be all-but-eliminated had New England come away with the victory tonight.

Anyway, just to briefly recap the Jets’ own game earlier this afternoon — a devastating 24-22 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) — I really wish the NFL would declare Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew too short to play in the league, as at 5’7″ he is one of the peskier and more dangerous weapons an opposing team can possess.  Not only did he run with relative ease against our reasonably stingy run defense (MJD was the first opposing running back this season to rush for 100+ yards against us), but he also made a play in the last minute of the game that was far smarter than I gave him credit for at the time given my extreme disappointment.  With Jacksonville down just one point, 22-21, and about 1 1/2 minutes left to play, the speedy Jones-Drew took a 2nd-and-6 handoff from the 10-yard line and ran it all the way up the middle only to purposefully take a knee at the 1, just so the clock would continue to run (we had no timeouts remaining, and were hoping to get the ball back by allowing him to run into the end zone).  Only needing a field goal to regain the lead, all the Jags had to do was let the clock tick down, and kick the game-winning field goal as time expired.  Which they did.

Was it a smart play by MJD?  Yes, I suppose it was.  Could the Jets defense have done a better job stopping the litte guy from pretty much having his way with us in a game we really needed to win?  I’d like to think so.  But what’s done is done, unfortunately, and onward to Week 11 we go, where we face off again with the aforementioned Pats.

Yet another reminder for those who forget… we beat New England back in Week 2 on our turf, so a second victory in their house would award us the tiebreaker over them in the AFC East standings, and also place us just a game back of first in the division with 5 games remaining.  We’ll see what happens, of course, but you can bet I’ll be pasted to the television set come Sunday.  And I dare you, Bill Belichick, I seriously double-dog-DARE you (I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that before, let alone written it) to try once again to prove you have the biggest set of cojones in world history.  Because all I will do is laugh, as we will attack back with a slap-in-the-face SO big…..

Well, you’ll just have to find out, won’t ya Bill?

Okay, maybe I can’t.  After all, the Jets players — and I — did A LOT of trash talking leading up to Sunday’s rematch with division rival Miami, only to once again fall short of victory.  In fact, the final scores of the two games were almost identical (31-27 on MNF in Week 5, and 30-25 this past weekend in Week 8).  There is, however, absolutely NO excuse as to why we lost on Sunday to the same Dolphins team that abused us with their “Wildcat” offense just 20 days prior.  This time we held Miami to just 104 yards TOTAL offense, while we put up a whopping 378 in comparison.  On paper, this game should not have even been close.  But not only was it close, the team with more than three times the amount of total yardage than their opponent came out on the losing end.  Pathetic.

Dolphins' wide receiver/returner Ted Ginn, Jr.

It wasn’t our defense that killed us this time around.  It was Ted Ginn, Jr., who ran two kickoffs back for touchdowns (one for 100 yards, the other for 101) in the game, accounting for almost half of his team’s points alone.  Forget the fact that he became the first player in NFL history with two 100+ yard touchdowns in a single game, and the first since 1967 to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a single quarter (yes — both came in the 3rd quarter).  He made our special teams unit look like a high school football practice squad — ESPECIALLY on his second return TD, which I never want to see again (if you missed it, well… good).

What I do want to see is my team come out of their bye week with a serious bang, as it will most certainly be needed if they want ANY shot at contending for a playoff spot this season.  At 4-4, we are still in second place in the AFC East, ahead of Miami (3-4) by one game in the win column, and behind New England (5-2), whom we play again in a few weeks.  We get Jacksonville at home following our bye week, and then we’re off to New England.  The Patriots play the Dolphins (our BFFs) this week, and then have a huge matchup with the currently-undefeated Indianapolis Colts (7-0), before squaring off again with us.  So even if they beat Miami this week, which I believe they will (but then again, I believed WE would beat them as well), if they lose to Indy and we defeat the Jags, we could potentially take sole possession of first place if we can beat New England for a second time, as we would hold the tie-breaker over them, having also beaten them in Week 2.  I know such a scenario contains a shitload of “ifs,” but if the ifs all occur, we could be in for one heck of a showdown Novermber 22nd IF (in Foxboro).

Jets' wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery.

New York cornerback Darrelle Revis had this to say about the upcoming game this weekend: “We’ve been waiting for them.  It’s not like we overlooked other teams we’ve played, but this is a game we’ve been wanting to get back. We’ve got something to show them on Sunday. It’s going to be very intense.” You bet it’ll be intense.  We have a bye the following week, and every team likes to go into their bye week coming off a win, so that makes this game that much more important from a team perspective.

Jets' running back Leon Washington.

While we were unfortunate to lose running back Leon Washington (broken right leg) for the rest of the season this past Sunday, we still managed to rush for over 300 yards, making us the first team in 34 years to have 300-plus total rushing yards in 2 straight games (318 against Buffalo the week before, and 316 against Miami).  Currently, the Jets are the number one rushing team in the NFL, averaging 184.9 yards per game on the ground.  This week, we look to get a more balanced attack going as starting wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury, is set to return to the lineup.  We have yet to really see Cotchery and recent acquisition, wide receiver Braylon Edwards gel together on the field, as Jerricho has not been 100% since the Edwards trade.  Hopefully the two can get it going this week.  And hopefully the Jets can follow through with the revenge that they are so desperately seeking.

Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan’s Wednesday press conference

Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez celebrating a touchdown in the 4th quarter.

During a Week 7 that saw a total of FIVE 30-plus-to-single-digits blowouts, the New York Jets were the only one of the victorious teams in those games to blank their opponent, defeating the Oakland Raiders 38-0.  Now that certainly looks a lot more impressive that it really was, as the Raiders are not exactly considered a “contender” these days, but a shutout is still a shutout, and it was on the road as well.  It was a bounce-back performance that both the Jets as a team AND rookie starting quarterback Mark Sanchez desperately needed — to regain confidence and finally get back into the win column.  A week after throwing 5 interceptions against the Bills, Sanchez did not throw a single pick on Sunday.  Instead, he had 2 touchdowns (1 passing, 1 rushing).

Along with his two scores, Sanchez added a hot dog to his stat sheet Sunday, as he can be seen below caught on camera late in the game trying to sneak one on the sidelines.

“I want to apologize for that,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling very good and didn’t eat much before the game, so I was feeling a little queasy. Toward the end of the game, I probably should have eaten one of those bars or something, but someone offered [a hot dog], so I grabbed it and tried to be discreet about it, but obviously not discreet enough. So I shouldn’t have done that, and it won’t happen again.”

If it means we keep winning… by all means, Mark, let it happen every game.

Jets' running back Thomas Jones attempting to break away from Raiders' tacklers.

Like I stressed in my previous post the other day, this Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders in Oakland is a MUST-WIN game.  But that doesn’t mean we can just win this weekend and start another losing streak.  No, we cannot afford that one bit — ESPECIALLY since Tom Brady has somehow relocated his mojo, going off in a BIG way last week against the head-scratchingly-bad-this-season-after-having-the-league’s-best-record-just-last-year Tennessee Titans, to the tune of a score far too embarrassing to post on this blog.

All I can say is: thank goodness we played our first of two games with New England in Week 2, while Brady was still readjusting to life in the National Football League, after missing all of last season with torn knee ligaments.  Also fortunate is the fact that it came before our rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez landed himself in an ugly 3-game slump, during which he has thrown 8 interceptions and just one touchdown pass.

We travel to Foxboro to take on the Pats again in Week 11, which means the next few games are critical if we want any shot at contending for the AFC East title this season (or at least a wildcard spot).  Let’s take a look at what New York has on tap between now and that matchup with New England:

Week 7 — In just a few days, we look to get back into the win column with a win over the Oakland Raiders (2-4), who are coming off a big upset of the Philadelphia Eagles last week.  You can be sure that their recent victory has them confident going into Sunday’s game with the Jets, which means we need to bring our A-game (as we should every week, regardless of who we are playing).

Week 8 — This week is the first of 2 straight home games before going back on the road to face the Patriots.  Hopefully, going into the first one, with the Miami Dolphins, the Jets’ players will have New England in the back of their minds, knowing that going to Foxboro on a winning streak is extremely important for their confidence (as well as for the standings).  We lost a heartbreaker on Monday Night Football in Miami less than two weeks ago, and would love nothing more than to return the favor on our turf (especially after losing at home to the lowly Buffalo Bills last week).

Week 9 — Bye week.

Week 10 — Another home game, and last one before squaring off the Pats in New England.  This time we meet the Jacksonville Jaguars, who currently have the same record as us (3-3), and are in a similar position in terms of where they sit in their division (except they are 2 back of first-place Indianapolis while we are only a game behind the Patriots).  This is a must-win simply because of who is next on the schedule, even if we win the games against Oakland and Miami.

If we can head to New England with a 6-3 record, that could possibly put us in position to retake sole possession of first place in the AFC East, if the currently-undefeated Colts can knock off Brady and the Pats the week before we face them.  That would put us both at 6-3, assuming we win our next three games, and set up a prime rematch of rivals.

What I would have looked like had I been at the game on Sunday.

I don’t know if I can watch another Jets game after their putrid performance this past Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills (2-4)…

Here are a few things I took away from our 16-13 overtime loss AT HOME:

1. Rookie or not, I honestly didn’t think Mark Sanchez was capable of throwing five interceptions in a single game, let alone playing as badly overall as he did Sunday.

2. When your team rushes for 318 yards, especially against a very mediocre team like Buffalo, you don’t expect to lose.

3. The Bills? Really?!

For the second week in a row, an individual Jet’s performance was overshadowed by team negatives that ended up costing them a victory.  Last week it was newly acquired wide receiver Braylon Edwards, whose quick adjustment to the New York offense led to a solid first game with the team, but was nevertheless diminished by the defense’s inability to contain Dolphins‘ running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, as well as the Miami wildcat offense as a whole.

This week, Thomas Jones ran for a Jets franchise-record 210 yards, but it was Sanchez’s 5 interceptions and overall horrible performance that New York fans will remember more.  And to add insult to injury, the Jets lost four-time Pro Bowl nose tackle Kris Jenkins for the entire season after he tore his left ACL in the loss to Buffalo.  In case you’re unfamiliar with Jenkins, take a look at the clip below…

In Week 7, New York travels to Oakland to take on the Raiders, who I didn’t think much of (and still don’t, really) until they somehow managed to pull off an ugly 13-9 victory over Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles this past weekend — a game in which the Eagles were a 2-touchdown favorite.  This, of course — like the meeting with the Bills was — is a must-win for the Jets, as they absolutely CAN NOT afford to drop a fourth game in a row, which would bring their record (currently at 3-3) to under .500, and likely 2 whole games behind the newly-rejuvenated New England Patriots.

Clown and Clowney.

I understand that Jets‘ wide receiver David Clowney is not a name most football fans know.  Heck, I’ll bet there are many Jets fans who don’t know who he is — or at least didn’t until this past Monday night.  In the disappointing loss to the Dolphins a few days ago, Clowney saw his 2009 stat sheet receive numbers other than zero for the first time this season.  Not only did he record his first catch of the year, he hauled in a total of 4 receptions, leading to a game-high (yes, more than newcomer Braylon Edwards) 72 receiving yards.  Now that may seem like an average game’s work for some guys, but for Clowney, it was a breath of fresh air.  “I was patient, my time came, and now I have to just get better from here on out,” he said.  “The whole thing was when my number got called, I just had to make sure I produced.”  And produce he did.

Along with his recent production, Clowney has also managed to stay out of “Twitter Twouble” since his comments about lack of playing time landed him a nice warm seat on the bench. This, of course, can only be a good thing, as we certainly do not want any off-the-field issues disrupting team chemistry while trying to win football games.  New York is a classy place to play professional sports, and the last thing we need is some “Clown” to bring the circus to town.  Now for those unfamiliar with Clowney’s abilities ON the football field, take a look at these highlights (albeit from only a few games, but that’s simply because he hasn’t played in many thus far in his career):

Of course most of these highlights are from the preseason, and came mostly against lower-echelon NFL teams like the Cleveland Browns (1-4), St. Louis Rams (0-5), and Buffalo Bills (1-4), but let’s not take anything away from the guy here.  Besides, there are still 11 more games in the 2009 NFL season, and provided Clowney maintains a clean tweet sheet from here on out, we should see him add to those 4 catches and 72 yards sooner than you think…

Oh, and if for some reason football doesn’t end up working out for Clowney, or he simply wants to see more of the spotlight, perhaps the producers from “Dancing With the Stars” will be showing up on his caller ID in the near future?

An actual wildcat... not what the offense looks like on a football field.

This was a win both teams needed — the Jets to remain a game ahead of the New England Patriots atop the AFC East, and the Dolphins to stay just one back of both New York and New England, which they did with the victory.  Despite the fact that the Jets have a relatively easy schedule the next few weeks (home against Buffalo, @ Oakland, and home again for another matchup with Miami), this was still an important game for them, as is every meeting with a divisional opponent.  And after starting the season 3-0, we have now lost two straight.

However, one of the few bright spots to stem from the game last night was the introduction of wide receiver Braylon Edwards, whom the Jets received this last week in a trade with the Cleveland Browns for wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik, and two draft picks.  Edwards was a favorite target of New York quarterback Mark Sanchez throughout the entire game, catching 5 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown, as well as setting up the Jets’ other two TDs.  Unfortunately, it was not enough, as the defense kept giving the lead back to the Dolphins, especially in the 4th quarter, during which there were five lead changes.

It’s unlikely we’ll see much of the wildcat offense the next 2 weeks against the Bills and Raiders, but all I can say is that our defense better be turned around and more than prepared for this pesky Miami team in Week 8.  Otherwise, if we still can’t defend the wildcat at the halfway point through the season, we may as well kiss any hopes of bringing home the Lombardi trophy to New York this season goodbye.