Jets realize they can't depend on miracle finishes
The Jets' Brad Smith (16) congratulates Mark Sanchez after Sanchez threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes late in the fourth quarter Sunday. (Nov. 21, 2010) Credit: AP
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Their nail-gnawing last-second wins are leaving many exasperated observers without any leftover cuticles to even nibble on.
The Jets' last four victories haven't been decided until the closing moments. The most recent example came Sunday at New Meadowlands Stadium, when they blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead and allowed the Texans to rattle off 20 unanswered points before winning it with 10 seconds left on Mark Sanchez's 6-yard touchdown toss to Santonio Holmes.
This act is getting a bit old, though, and the Jets know they can't continue to keep self-destructing and still win these games.
"That's the thing that Rex kind of talked to us about today," veteran fullback Tony Richardson said. "A lot of times, it's the Jets vs. the Jets. We put ourselves in some bad situations and [Sunday] was a good example. Obviously, they are a good football team and they rallied back. We had opportunities to put that game away and we didn't. We didn't do it. Good football teams, when you are up, you know how to finish games out.
"Obviously we finished the game, but that's not the way we wanted to finish."
That's why the Jets counted their blessings Monday. They're cognizant the curtain on their weekly magical act could drop at any given moment, and there were few congratulatory pats on the backs, not much high-fiving going on as they reviewed the footage of their nearly historic flop.
Had they lost, it would've been the second-worst fourth-quarter collapse at home in franchise history, topped only by the 17-point lead that evaporated against the Boston Patriots in 1960, when the team was still known as the Titans.
That's not exactly something you expect from a Rex Ryan defense.
"The meetings today weren't fun and bubbly, it was more about teaching and realizing we could've lost the game very easily," linebacker Jason Taylor said. "So we understand we can't keep doing it. But like Rex said, at the end of the day, if we have to apologize for the rest of the games all the way out because we are winning the ugly way, we'll take it."
Ryan prefers to take the optimistic view, choosing to believe there's a payoff waiting for the Jets somewhere down the line.
"The fact we came back might be better for our team in the long run," Ryan said. "The way we came back and battled, the mental toughness it took, the resolve that it took and the fact our young quarterback led our team down the field when it looked like it was stacked against us, I think is actually better for our team.''
As much as they might try to spin it, though, these seemingly miraculous late-game heroics likely won't fly against some of the better teams the Jets have left on their challenging schedule. They've been able to squeak out last-second victories against Denver, Detroit, Cleveland and Houston - four sub-.500 teams that had a combined record of 12-27 heading into last night.
But after Thursday's matchup with the Bengals, they have games against the Patriots, Steelers and Bears in the following four weeks, three teams that have a combined 22-8 mark.
"Obviously, we are not looking past this game," Richardson said, "but you do look down the road, and look at teams like Pittsburgh and still New England - these are good football teams. And first of all, we can't beat ourselves in those games. We can't expect, 'Hey, 30 seconds left on the clock, down by two or three that we are going to come back and win the game.' We can't put ourselves in those situations, even allowing the game to come down to it like that because it'll come back and bite you in the butt."
