This looked almost like last week, almost but with a different outcome. Once again the Jets pulled a last minute comeback, once again the game went to overtime. but this time the New York Jets came out on top and beat the Oakland Raiders 27-24.
The first quarter did not look promising at all. First, the Raiders made a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Jets responded with a 65-yard strike from Chad Pennington to WR Santana Moss. Then we saw one of the most embarrassing performances by the Jets defense in years, as the Raiders marched 80 yards on 19 plays, all runs, and took a 14-7 lead. This drive lasted 10 minutes and 58 seconds.
Later in the second quarter the Jets cut the Raiders' lead to 10-14 when K Doug Brien kicked a 48-yard field goal. It seemed that the Jets would go to the locker room trailing by only 4 points at halftime, but the "offensive" Jets defense wasn't done yet. Two and a half minutes later the Raiders scored yet another touchdown and extended their lead to 21-10. Rookie S Derek Pagel had no chance against Raiders WR Jerry Porter.
After a scoreless third quarter the Jets finally decided that it was time to play some football. RB LaMont Jordan scored on a 2-yard run, cutting the lead to 16-21. This is where Herman Edwards decided to go for 2 points to make it a 3-point game. The attempt failed but the Jets still had almost the entire 4th quarter at their disposal. With 3:27 to go in the quarter, being down 16-24, the Jets got the ball back, poised to make another late comeback. On the first play Pennington, who finished this game with an awesome 123.8 quarterback rating, connected with FB Jerald Sowell for a 44-yard completion. Two plays later the Jets were already in the red zone - 17 yards from making this a 2-point game. After the two minute warning LaMont Jordan moved the Gang Green inside the five, and then Pennington connected with Sowell on a 3-yard touchdown pass. On the 2-point attempt Pennington hit TE Anthony Becht and the score was tied 24-24.
In overtime the Jets won the coin toss and never looked back. On 2nd and 2 on the Jets 30-yard line Santana Moss gained 25 yards on a reverse to move the team into the Oakland territory. Seven plays later Doug Brien was given a chance to redeem himself for last week's blocked field goal against the Giants. This time he did not disappoint..
Well, the Jets beat the team they should have beaten, considering that the Raiders had Rick Mirer as their starting quarterback. The run defense looked as pathetic as it had been all season long (allowed 169 yards on the ground), the pass-rush was non-existent (first game this season without a sack), and the secondary could hardly cover anyone. Let's be honest. If the Raiders had a different quarterback, the Jets would have had no chance to win this game. Next week the Gang Green will face the Colts in Indianapolis. If the Jets do not put any pressure on Manning, they won't stand a chance...