Third-down failures, turnovers wreck Jets
Week 4: Saints, Broncos 4-0, 49ers Win
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Oct. 5: Saints 24, Jets 10
NEW ORLEANS - Here's the situation: The Jets, trailing 17-3, have the ball at the Saints' 48 with 10:32 left in the third quarter. Third-and-1, and they've been running the ball reasonably well. Time for Thomas Jones, right?
Nope. Mark Sanchez attempts a short pass to his right to Chansi Stuckey, and it's batted down, forcing the Jets to punt.
The Jets score on their next possession to make it 17-10. After the Saints are stopped, the Jets are faced with another third-and-1, this time from their 37. With one of the top offensive lines in football, surely now's the time to run it, yes?
>> Photos: Jets lose to Saints, 24-10
Not this time, either. Sanchez attempts another pass to Stuckey, and that one's incomplete, too.
Huh?
"Third-and-1 is our territory," left guard Alan Faneca said. "You'd like to run the ball. Put it on our shoulders."
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer finally ran it on third-and-2 in the fourth quarter, but Jones was stopped for no gain.
Oh, well.
"They made the plays and we didn't," coach Rex Ryan said. "We thought we could hit them on a play , and we knew the coverage we were going to get."
The Jets (3-1) were miserable on third down all afternoon Sunday, and it contributed heavily to a 24-10 loss to the 4-0 Saints. The Jets were a paltry 3-for-12 on third down and consistently were stymied by an improved Saints defense that produced three interceptions, one returned 99 yards for a touchdown, and a sack/forced fumble recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
"Not converting on those third downs was costly," Sanchez said. But the rookie wasn't second-guessing his offensive coordinator.
"There was nothing wrong with the play calls," he said. "We just didn't execute them."
Faneca hopes that won't be the case down the road.
"I hope we get a chance to play them again," he said.
Hmmm. How could that happen?
"There's only one way," he said.
Hmmm . . . the Super Bowl?
Faneca didn't say anything further.
Just smiled.
>> Photos: Jets lose to Saints, 24-10
