Sanchez-led Jets rally to beat Lions 23-20 in OT
Mark Sanchez of the Jets throws a pass against the Lions in Detroit, Michigan. (Nov. 7, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
DETROIT - The Jets left Ford Field Sunday wearing a bunch of ski masks.
Aided by a few head-scratching plays from the Lions, the Jets stormed back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and rattled off the game's final 13 points to steal a 23-20 overtime victory and regain their first-place status in the AFC East standings thanks to Cleveland's win over New England.
Nick Folk, who hit a 36-yarder at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, drilled a 30-yard field goal with 12:42 left in the extra session to seal the Jets' bounce-back victory. Santonio Holmes' 52-yard grab from Mark Sanchez helped set up Folk's game-winner and saved the Jets after a rash of penalties and miscues had them teetering on the brink for the better part of three quarters.
"Quite honestly, we prefer a first-round knockout and that didn't happen," coach Rex Ryan said. "We got knocked down a few times today. We were bloodied and all of that, but we win it in the championship round. That speaks volumes of your football team."
Sanchez threw for a career-high 323 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards, and Holmes finished with 114 yards on five receptions to spur the Jets (6-2).
"We never gave up," Holmes said. "I was on the sideline the whole time, yelling at our guys, 'Continue to believe. We are going to play this game until the end.' They gave us a second chance and we took advantage of it."
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score to give Detroit a 10-point lead before reinjuring his right shoulder and leaving the game with 5:19 left.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz gave Sanchez extra time to work with on the game-tying drive when he called a pass on third down and Drew Stanton threw an incompletion, giving the Jets the ball with 1:40 left.
Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was held to one reception for 13 yards, getting shut down by Darrelle Revis.
The Lions looked like they were going to win a third game this season - to surpass the victories they had the past two years combined - when Stafford lobbed a 2-yard TD to Nate Burleson with 11:51 left.
But they couldn't overcome Stafford hurting his shoulder or Schwartz's questionable call to pass instead of run to take more time off the clock when the Jets were out of timeouts.
A missed extra point proved to be costly for Detroit. Rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, filling in for injured kicker Jason Hanson, hit the right upright on an extra point in the third quarter when the Lions led 13-10.
The Jets would've been more aggressive if they needed a TD on the final drive of regulation, but they only needed three points to force the game into overtime against a backup quarterback.
