It sure took a white, 7 games to be exact, but today we finally saw the New York Jets we all expected to see from the start of this season. The Gang Green traveled to San Diego and simply demolished the 6-1 San Diego Chargers, 44-13!
The Jets allowed only 73 rushing yards, playing against one of the top ground attacks in the entire league. The defense also finally excelled on 3rd downs, as the Chargers converted only one out of nine 3rd down attempts.
QB Chad Pennington looked calm and poised, he completed 28 of his 37 passes for a total of 253 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. Pennington also ran for 21 yards, including an 8-yard first quarter run that opened the score. The Jets ran for the season-high 165 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. RB Curtis Martin carried the ball 17 times for 37 yards, and scored on a 17-yard run in the second quarter. Backup RB LaMont Jordan broke a 61-yard TD run late in the game - his first rushing touchdown of the season. Jordan ran 13 times for 107 yards.
TE Anthony Becht caught a 1-yard TD pass in the second quarter - his fourth of the year. Becht finished the game with four receptions for 26 yards. FB Richie Anderson made the team-high 7 catches for 56 yards. WR Laveranues Coles had a rather quiet first half, bit still managed to finish the game with 5 receptions for 60 yards. WR Wayne Chrebet caught 3 passes for 47 yards.
For the second straight game WR/PR Santana Moss returned a punt for a touchdown. This time it was a 52-yard run that made the score 14-0 in the first quarter. Moss had 5 returns for a total of 116 yards.
The defense probably played their best game of the season, allowing only 243 yards and forcing 2 turnovers (the Jets also recovered a fumble on special teams). The Gang Green also recorded two sacks and made 3 tackles for loss - something we hadn't seen all season.
Overall, this was the best game under the Herman Edwards' regime. Unfortunately, it's just too late, as the Jets most likely need to win all of their remaining games to secure a playoff spot. Next Sunday the Jets will host their division rival, the Miami Dolphins, can this Jets team play two good games in a row? We'll find out in one week....