Jets grades
Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets reacts to a call on the field during the first half against the New York Giants. (Dec. 24, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
OFFENSE: F
With the exception of their first drive of the game, when they marched 53 yards in 10 plays and scored on Mark Sanchez's 5-yard toss to Josh Baker, the Jets did very little on offense. In the second half, they mustered only nine first downs, 146 yards and seven points.
Sanchez fumbled a snap into the end zone that was recovered by the Giants for a touchback. He was forced to throw a career-high 59 times, completing 30 for 258 yards with two interceptions, five sacks and a passer rating of 54.2. A rash of penalties certainly didn't help.
DEFENSE: C-
For the most part, the Jets kept Eli Manning in check, allowing him to complete only 9 of 27 passes for 225 yards, sacking him twice and intercepting him once. Only one receiver caught more than one pass and that was Victor Cruz, who posted 164 yards on three receptions. But there's no excuse for giving up that back-breaking 99-yard touchdown reception by Cruz on a play that should have amounted to no more than 11 yards, and even when things still were within striking distance and the Jets trailed by eight points with 2:13 to play, they crowded the line and surrendered an easy 19-yard touchdown run by Ahmad Bradshaw.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Once again, it wasn't a banner day for Mike Westhoff's unit. Nick Folk missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the second quarter that could've squared things heading into halftime. Antonio Cromartie seemed to be tentative and averaged only 19 yards on his two kickoff returns, leading Westhoff to go with Joe McKnight instead. Even linebacker Nick Bellore had a tough day, committing back-to-back holding penalties during a punt sequence in the first quarter. The Jets were forced to punt again both times -- even though one was an offsetting penalty -- and it ended up costing them 16 yards in field position. The lone bright spot was T.J. Conley, who dropped four of his nine punts inside the 20-yard line and pinned the Giants at their 1 with one nifty punt. (Of course, that was followed by Cruz's 99-yard TD catch.)
COACHING: D
Rex Ryan talked all week about how much this game meant to him and how if the Jets lost, it would be on his shoulders. So given that the Jets knew they controlled their playoff destiny and ultimately didn't get it done despite all the talk, Ryan has to shoulder the bulk of the blame. The Jets seemed to get away from the run too much in the second half and appeared to outsmart themselves with some of their play calls. About the only positives for the Jets were the two challenges Ryan won, with both proving to be critical. Ryan is 9-1 in getting calls reversed via replay challenges this season.
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