Jets Lose to Jags 24-22 On Last Second Field Goal

Jets fullback Tony Richardson and his teammates start practice. Photo Dan Miller/DMD ImagesMore than 76,000 football fans visited Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands to see the New York Jets (4-4) face the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) in a must game for both teams if either would have a chance to see post- season play.

 The Jaguars came into the game with one of the premier running backs in the league. Maurice Jones-Drew brought 737 rushing yards into the game while scoring 66 points on 11 touchdowns. The Jets countered with Thomas Jones, their own threat on the ground. Jones brought 704 yards to the game. Jaguars quarterback David Garrard had 1,867 passing yards to 1,443 for the Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.

  On the very first play from scrimmage Sanchez attempted a play action pass to Jerricho Cotchery, but the pass was short landing in the arms of Jaguars’ defender Rashean Mathis for an interception, giving Jacksonville good field position very early in the game.
  The Jaguars wasted little time to score on a 33-yard TD run by Jones-Drew in a five-play drive that ate up 2 minutes and 40 seconds and 55 yards, all on the ground.

  Jones-Drew led the Jaguars in rushing with 197 carries for 824 yards and 12 TDs in 2008. He is on a pace to surpass that this season.
A 32-yard pass completion to Cotchery along with a roughing the passer penalty put the ball in the red zone with under two minutes in the first quarter for the Jets. On third down Sanchez hit Cotchery for a seven-yard touch down on the right side of the end zone to give the Jets a 10-7 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

The Jaguars moved the ball nicely, seemingly without effort, down the field in a 70-yard drive capped off by a seven-yard TD run by Jaguar quarterback Garrard. The kick was good and the game was tied at 10.

 The Jaguars put up seven more points before the break on a 10-play, 86-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard TD pass from Garrard to Mike Sims-Walker, giving the Jaguars a 21-10 lead.

 With 36 seconds left in the first half, the Jets put three points on the scoreboard on a 37-yard field goal by Jay Feely, leaving the Jets on the short end of 21-13.

  A 40-yard Feely field goal brought the Jets back within striking distance at 14:39.      A crucial third down seven-yard pass completion to Sanchez to David Clowney late in the game kept a Jets drive alive that would be needed if they were to pull off the game.
 During the same drive Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards for 16 yards where Edwards made a circus catch at the Jaguars’ 24-yard line, giving the Jets a first down with 7:38 to play.

  The Jets game and perhaps their season came down to one play. With fourth and one the Jets went for it and succeeded on an end around run by Shawn Green who followed the blocking from Long Island City resident and Jets fullback Tony Richardson all the way down to the one- yard line with 5:07 left in the game and perhaps in the Jets’ playoff hopes.
 On the next play Sanchez handed off to Jones, who leapt over the top to score to give the Jets a 22-21 lead with under five minutes to go in the game.

Jacksonville settled for a field goal as time ran out to take a victory from defeat as the Jets lost again, 23-22, for the fifth time this season, leaving them with a 4-5 record with seven games to go following a 3-0 start. 

Jets rookie quarterback Sanchez, instead of answering questions from the New York media, read from notes he had quickly scribbled on a small piece of paper. In the locker room, Richardson, a Long Island city resident, spoke about the fan support. “I felt they did their part today. They were fired up, ready to roll. Unfortunately they did their part, but we just didn’t do ours.”

Cotchery also summed up the loss, “You got to be consistent throughout the game. It can’t come in spurts. It’s got to be consistent from start to finish throughout the game. If it’s not consistent you’re gonna see an up and down game. We are not playing up to our capabilities now.”