Green Rewind December 27, 2015

  The Jets live another week! A thrilling 26-20 overtime victory over their biggest rival, the New England Patriots made the Christmas holiday complete for New York Jets fans around the world. The game was marred by some surprises the biggest of which was the coin toss before the overtime. For the Jets, the usual suspects shined. Brandon Marshall had 8 receptions, 115 yards and 2 TDs. Eric Decker got the winning TD reception in overtime. Ryan Fitzpatrick (what can you say about his guy) was 26-41, 296 yards and 3 TDs. Just when you thought Fitz looked average, missing players open long in the first half and providing the Patriots with a touchdown when he gets the ball knocked out of his hands, he is flawless in overtime. Fitz actually looked better as the game went on. Quincy Enunwa and Kenbrell Thompkins had key receptions. Enunwa’s 48-yard catch in overtime, was one of the best plays of the game. Thomkins seems to get open more and more each week. He went down with an injury and hopefully he’ll be back next week as part of a receiving group that is starting to get thin. Stevan Ridley had his best game as a Jet and Bilal Powell continues to be impressive each week rushing and receiving.

  The Jets defense was outstanding keeping Tom Brady off balance all game. When you see Brady throwing the ball into the ground as much as he did, you know he is feeling the pressure. The Jets defensive line was active all game. Leonard Williams had an excellent game and made some key stops on running plays. Safety Marcus Gilchrist led the defense with 8 tackles. Sheldon Richardson and Lorenzo Mauldin each had a sack. And like most sacks, credit has got to be given to the players who force the QB to move. Mo Willkerson was the key. In the second half, Darrelle Revis had a key interception just when Jet fans thought Brady was going to lead the Pats down field for a touchdown. The Patriots did not score their first offensive touchdown until there was 4:31 left in the fourth quarter. Incredible when you think about it.

  In the first quarter the Jets had a nice drive that lasted almost 7 minutes. After a 1-yard run by Ivory, 2 fade passes that failed, the Jets settled for a 30-yard field goal. On the drive, Fitz made a couple of nice 3^rd down passes to keep the drive going. The first one was to Marshall for 5 yards and the other was a 6-yard pass to Thompkins.

  The second quarter saw the Patriots tie up the game on a 35-yard field goal by Gostowski. The Jets made a nice 3^rd down stop when the Pats had the ball on the Jets 17-yard line. On this drive the Patriots tried 2 trick plays; one a lateral back to Brady after a hand off that went incomplete and the other a direct snap to Bolden with Brady split out wide.

  The Jets then went on a 13-play 6:49 drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown pass to Marshall. During the drive, Thompkins had 2 receptions both for 12-yards each, with one coming on a 3^rd and 6.  After the Jets kickoff, we fans saw something we never see. The Patriots had the ball on their own 16-yard line with 2 timeouts and Tom Brady, the master of the hurry-up and efficient down field drives at the helm. And the Patriots run out the clock with two running plays and one short pass completion. Jet fans as well as Patriot fans were scratching their heads.

  In the 3^rd quarter the Patriots were on the move getting the second half kick off when Darrelle Revis intercepted a pass for Gronkowski. The Jets took over and went on a 6-play drive that took 4:09. The final play of the drive was a great adjustment by Marshall catching a TD pass that was under thrown by Fitz. This play had Jet fans jumping up and down (I know I was). The Patriots then went on a drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal by Gostowski. On the next Jet possession on 3^rd down, Fitz was sacked and/or stripped of the ball trying to pass it and Collins returned it for a touchdown and all Jet fans felt like their world caved in. This was heart wrenching!

  In the 4^th quarter, the Jets came right back and Bullock hit a 49-yard field goal after two of the three prior plays lost a total of 5-yards. The Patriots then had a 11-play drive that lasted 4:31. The lowlights of this drive for the Jets were two 4^th and 1 completions to Gronkowski and a 9-yard touchdown pass to White that made David Harris looked bad. The Jets went 3 and out, then Brady took a knee to end regulation time.

   The coin toss at the start of overtime will be talked about all week on talk radio from South Jersey up to Maine. The Patriots won the toss and deferred. With one of the best quarterbacks in history, this was an obvious mistake. Don’t listen to anything the Patriots say during the week, they just blew it. The Jets then went on to score a touchdown on 5 plays highlighted by 3 pass plays as Fitz saved his best for last. A 46-yard pass to Enunwa. Then 2 plays later a 20-yard pass completion to Marshall, followed by a perfect throw to Decker in the right side of the end zone. Game over!

    The Steelers lost so now the Jets can wrap up a playoff birth with a win over the Bills. What a game! What a 5 weeks! What a season! Hey all Jet fans, pat yourself on the back. We all deserve it!

Green Tidbits:

Pats got their only penalty in the 4^th quarter. Incredible!

What was with all the close-ups in the first quarter of Marshall face?

I plead guilty! I was one of the people who wanted Dan Quinn over Todd Bowles. I was wrong!

Jets offensive line deserves a lot of credit!

Why didn’t Quigley just “pooch it” in the 4^th quarter when the Pats had no one back to receive the punt?

How good is Brandon Marshall speaking in front of the camera.

Pats went on 4^th down and were 3-3. But on 3^rd downs, they were 1-10.

I predict there will be a lot of green in the stands in Buffalo next Sunday.

Ryan Fitzpatrick now has 29 TD passes, and has passed for 3,724 yards. Not bad for a journeyman!