Loss to Patriots all but eliminates Jets
Photo credit: AP | New England Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain and cornerback Leigh Bodden, rear, knock down New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez after he threw a pass in the fourth quarter. (Nov. 22, 2009)
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Photos: Patriots 31, Jets 14
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - A tumultuous week in which their defensive line coach was fired, their coach was barbecued for crying in front of his team at a meeting and the rookie quarterback was ridiculed for pretending he was Michael Bloomberg's speech writer probably didn't seem all that bad after the whipping they took Sunday.
With their slim playoff hopes on the line and their season dangling like a loose spider web blowing in the wind, the Jets knew what was at stake against the rival Patriots. Beating New England was their only hope, their last true shot at salvaging a season that's spiraled down the drain since such a promising start.
But they came out flat, fell behind and couldn't overcome Mark Sanchez's five turnovers in a deflating 31-14 defeat at Gillette Stadium, a loss that effectively ended the Jets' shot at ending their two-year playoff drought.
"This was the first game I felt we got our butts kicked. We really did," Rex Ryan said. "There's no doubt about that. New England was the better team today."
So a season that began with so much anticipation at 3-0 has morphed into a nightmarish ending for the Jets (4-6), who have dropped six of their last seven. No more of a need for playoff guarantees or brash talk.
"It's tough, man, it's tough," Bart Scott said. "When you start off 3-0, expectations and beliefs are high. The higher you go, the bigger the crash is."
If that's the case, that deafening thud emanating from southern New England was that of Sanchez divebombing back down to Earth.
The rookie transformed back into a turnover machine in a game in which the Jets could least afford it. He tied his career high in turnovers thanks to four awful interceptions and a lost fumble, completing only 8 of 21 attempts for 136 yards and finishing with a putrid quarterback rating of 37.1.
The Patriots (7-3) scored 17 points off Sanchez's turnovers, with 10 coming in the first half. Sanchez should've known he was in for a long day when his fifth pass was intercepted by Leigh Bodden and returned 53 yards for a touchdown with 5:47 left in the first quarter.
"Their defense did a great job of trying to disguise things and I felt comfortable seeing where I was throwing the ball," Sanchez said. "The first few were really good reads and then things weren't there. I just tried to do a little too much."
The Jets found themselves trailing by 14 at the end of the first quarter and were staring at a 21-0 deficit with 10:19 left in the first half. They were on the verge of getting blown out of New England before Eric Smith blocked a Chris Hanson punt with just under a minute remaining. Brad Smith picked it up and ran 4 yards for a touchdown with 50 seconds left in the half, closing the large gap to 24-7.
When Jerricho Cotchery beat Jonathan Wilhite in the right corner of the end zone for a 29-yard hookup from Sanchez to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive, bringing the Jets within 24-14 with 9:45 left in the third, they thought they were back in it.
However, on the Jets' first drive of the fourth quarter, Sanchez killed their minuscule comeback chances with another horribly overthrown ball, completely misfiring on a pass intended for Cotchery that was intercepted by Bodden, his third pick of the game.
Said Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas: "I didn't know today was Dec. 25. I mean, three fair catches. It's very rare to get a day like that, so hats off to him."
So now the Jets are left to once again pick up the pieces after their latest loss, one that has them still searching for answers as to how this season has gone so horribly wrong over the last two months.
"With as well as we played early, to just not show up every once in a while for whatever reason, it's tough," safety Jim Leonhard said. "It's definitely tough. We've got to take a long look at ourselves in the mirror. Every one of us. We have to play better. We can't go through stretches where we play as poorly as we did today."
