Down 14 in 4th, Jets rally to beat Cowboys

Things were looking bleak, appearing downright gloomy.

The Jets were on the verge of dropping their second straight season opener under Rex Ryan, and seemed to be caving to the pressure of playing in the national spotlight with all the pageantry surrounding the Sept. 11 anniversary observances. They trailed by 14 points in the final quarter and were essentially facing a blockade, given the Cowboys were an incredible 210-0-1 when boasting a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter.

"Experience tells us around here that it's never over to the last tick," linebacker Bart Scott said. "You think about the Houston game [last season], you think about the Detroit game, the Cleveland game, we know as long as there's time on the clock, we have a chance."

They certainly proved that Sunday night in cardiac fashion.

With Nick Folk's 50-yard field goal, which was set up by a Darrelle Revis interception with 49 seconds remaining, the Jets pulled out a scintillating 27-24 comeback victory over the Cowboys in their season opener at MetLife Stadium. It was only the third time in franchise history the Jets overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, the last time coming in the "Monday Night Miracle" in 2000.

"That was amazing," Ryan said. "It doesn't get much better than this, especially the way we got it done. You saw the resolve this football team has. I spoke earlier in the week about the kind of pressure I felt and I'm sure our players felt it, as well.

"I was just a draining game."

Crazy would also be a good way to describe this one.

The Jets overcame two second-half Mark Sanchez turnovers to pull it out. Sanchez completed 26 of 44 attempts for 335 yards and two touchdowns, hooking up with Plaxico Burress for a score early in the fourth quarter.

With the Jets trailing 24-10, Burress finished off a much-needed seven-play, 84-yard drive by beating cornerback Bryan McCann for a 26-yard touchdown to the left pylon at the goal line. The play was reviewed, but was upheld, and Burress wound up handing the ball to his 4-year-old son Elijah in the stands, no doubt a moment both had been waiting for.

"It was just a great feeling," Burress said, "just acknowledging him and letting him know that we are back playing football again. He loves the game, also. I had pretty much planned it before the day even got started, that when I scored a touchdown, I wanted him to have the first ball."

Dallas was poised to regain control on its ensuing possession, and nearly went 80 yards in three short plays. However, Jim Leonhard caught tight end Jason Witten from behind at the 3-yard line on a 64-yard hookup with Tony Romo, who went 23-for-36 for 342 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Leonhard's play turned out to be a game-saver, thanks to the Jets shutting off the Cowboys' first two plays from scrimmage following Witten's catch. Then Mike DeVito forced a Romo fumble on third-and-goal from the 2.

"When [Leonhard] made that save, I think it's bigger than the fumble," said Sione Pouha, who recovered the ball at the 3. "The fact that he got all the way down there and made the stop, some people counted that as a touchdown -- 3, 4 more yards to go. But you are not in until you're in."

Sanchez wasn't able to capitalize, though, coughing it up himself on the Jets' next possession, when safety Danny McCray forced a fumble at the Jets' 47-yard line and linebacker Sean Lee recovered.

"It's just such a bonehead move and there's no excuse for that," Sanchez said. "Third year and as a captain, you can't do that. You've got to know the situation. I went through my progression, no one was open and I tried to do a little too much, and it just can't happen. So after that, we needed a big play and we got one on special teams."

Still, the Cowboys self-destructed, allowing Joe McKnight to blow through the middle of the line untouched to come up with the critical punt block with five minutes remaining. The play was actually designed for Eric Smith to make a run at the punter, but McKnight instead got the honors.

Isaiah Trufant picked up the ball and ran it in for an 18-yard touchdown, knotting things up at 24 apiece and handing the Jets a newfound life.

"Your eyes get five inches wide when you see the ball like that," said Trufant, who was signed to the active roster off the practice squad Saturday. "I was grateful to pick it up and roll with it."

That set the stage for the Jets' defense, which got the big play it was looking for from its star Pro Bowl cornerback. With 59 seconds left and the Cowboys on first-and-10 at their own 41-yard line, Revis baited Romo into throwing a pass intended for Dez Bryant, Revis picked it off at the Jets' 46 and returned it 20 yards down to the Cowboys' 34.

"It was a trap call," Revis said. " Mike Pettine made a good call. He [Romo] threw it, he thought we were blitzing and he threw it into coverage."

Folk took care of the rest three plays later, knocking off his old team.

"I think it felt better that we won on 9/11, to be honest," Folk said. "It feels great to beat the Cowboys, but in the end, I think the win overall is going to be more meaningful to the city of New York, with what happened. I think we went out and played pretty well tonight."

However, they know they're going to have to play much better than that if they're going to be an elite team in the AFC.

"We have a lot of work to do," Ryan said, "but we'll take this kind of victory any day of the week."