Rest or rust?

The playoff-bound New York Jets (11-5) faced that age-old question in their 100th all-time meeting with the last-place Buffalo Bills (4-12) at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday.

Some teams opt for rest and avoiding potential injuries. Others prefer to throw that caution to the wind, in favor of playing their regulars and remaining sharp for the postseason. History suggests either option can be right.

With only a slim chance of moving up from a six seed to a five seed in the AFC playoffs, the Jets chose to rest many of their regulars.

Whether or not that was the right move remains to be seen in next week’s wild-card playoff round, but it certainly didn’t matter against Buffalo, as Gang Green Lite scored the first 17 points, and the final 21 points, to bury the Bills, 38-7, at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday.

Ironically, it was the Indianapolis Colts – the Jets’ playoff opponent next week – who rested players with a perfect season on the line last year, allowing the Jets to win their way into the playoffs, before eventually losing in Indianapolis in last season’s AFC title game.

The Colts’ last-second win over Tennessee, coupled with Kansas City’s loss to Oakland on Sunday, moved Indianapolis (10-6) up to the three seed, and into a playoff rematch with New York.

Benching several key starters for most or all of Sunday’s game against the Bills, the Jets dominated on both sides of the ball to win for just the second time in five games, while reaching eleven regular season wins for the first time in a dozen years.

New York’s offense got three touchdowns from backup quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Kellen Clemens, and a career-high 158 rushing yards from backup, rookie running back Joe McKnight.

Meanwhile, the Bills couldn’t score against the Jets’ defense, which forced six turnovers while allowing just six first downs and 162 total yards.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez played only the Jets’ first possession, without throwing a pass, to protect a slightly injured right throwing shoulder, and key Jet inactives included New York’s top two rushers, running backs Shonn Green and LaDainian Tomlinson, starting cornerback Darrelle Revis, and starting safety Eric Smith (who was previously a second-stringer, replacing the injured, usual starter Jim Leonhard, in recent weeks).

But, the Jets’ backups picked up the slack.

Veteran backup Mark Brunell (6-12, 110 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack) threw touchdown passes right before, and just after, throwing an interception that was returned for the Bills’ only score.

Later, Brunell’s backup, Kellen Clemens, one of three Jets (along with utility man Brad Smith) to play quarterback on Sunday, added a 10-yard touchdown run.

And, usual reserve, second-year cornerback Marquis Cole, who entered the game with just 17 tackles and no career interceptions or scores, led the Jets with six tackles and two interceptions, the first of which was returned for the game’s initial touchdown.

It was clear early, that it wouldn’t be Buffalo’s day, as the Jets caught a break on the opening drive of the game, when Buffalo wide receiver Stevie Johnson (5 catches, 72 yards) fumbled while trying to add extra yards to the end of a 33-yard reception to the Jets’ 18 yard-line.

The Jets recovered at their own 11 yard-line and keeping the ball solely on the ground, traveled 79 yards on 12 plays, using up exactly half of the first quarter, to take a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Nick Folk, with 4:58 left in the first quarter. Utility man Brad Smith carried three times for 62 yards on the drive, including a nice 40-yard gain on an option run.

After the Bills’ first drive (which went for 55 yards, but which ended with Johnson’s fumble), Buffalo could get nothing going offensively for the rest of the game, with their own backups, Brian Brohm (whose only prior NFL start came last year, as a rookie) and rookie Levi Brown at quarterback.

Brohm, who was held to ten completions in 23 attempts, for 106 yards, was sacked three times, and threw three interceptions, while Brown went 2-for-3, for 24 yards, with an interception.

The Jets held the Bills to no more than 23 yards on any of Buffalo’s final twelve possessions, including eight single-yardage drives and five possessions that ended without positive yardage.

Early in the second quarter, linebacker Calvin Pace got in the face of Brohm, who sailed a weak pass that was intercepted by Cole and returned up the left sideline for 35-yard touchdown, to give the Jets a 10-0 lead with 9:07 left in the opening half.

Having completed just one pass (late in the first quarter) by the two-minute warning of the first half, the Jets finally moved the ball through the air with Brunell completing four of five passes during an 8-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with Brunell finding wide receiver Santonio Holmes (his only catch) on a 17-yard touchdown pass to the left, that extended the Jets’ lead to 17-0, with 15 seconds left in the half.

Three plays after halftime, safety Jarius Byrd intercepted a bad pass to the right flat by Brunell, and returned it 37 yards, to pull the Bills to within 17-7, just 1:44 into the second half.

But, Brunell rebounded two possessions later, with a 52-yard strike to wide receiver Braylon Edwards (his only catch), to put the Jets up, 24-7, with 6:41 left in the third quarter.

The Jets added two more scores in the final period, taking advantage of Bills’ interceptions each time (the first of those two picks was the second career interception for Pace).

A short, 5-play 27-yard drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Clemens, and on the next possession, rookie fullback John Conner (8 rushes, 44 yards, 1 TD) closed the scoring by capping a 5-play, 34-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.

Giving McKnight 32 attempts, the Jets rushed 50 times in 66 plays and held a tremendous ground advantage of 276-37 yards.

With their full compliment of starters returning next week, the Jets, who rode a five seed to Indianapolis last year, will seek revenge against the Colts while trying to begin another playoff run as the AFC’s lowest seed at the same venue where New York’s playoff run ended last year.

The Jets will battle the Colts on Saturday night, at 8 pm, in Lucas Oil Stadium, on NBC-TV.

Rest or rust?

The playoff-bound New York Jets (11-5) faced that age-old question in their 100th all-time meeting with the last-place Buffalo Bills (4-12) at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday.

Some teams opt for rest and avoiding potential injuries. Others prefer to throw that caution to the wind, in favor of playing their regulars and remaining sharp for the postseason. History suggests either option can be right.

With only a slim chance of moving up from a six seed to a five seed in the AFC playoffs, the Jets chose to rest many of their regulars.

Whether or not that was the right move remains to be seen in next week’s wild-card playoff round, but it certainly didn’t matter against Buffalo, as Gang Green Lite scored the first 17 points, and the final 21 points, to bury the Bills, 38-7, at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday.

Ironically, it was the Indianapolis Colts – the Jets’ playoff opponent next week – who rested players with a perfect season on the line last year, allowing the Jets to win their way into the playoffs, before eventually losing in Indianapolis in last season’s AFC title game.

The Colts’ last-second win over Tennessee, coupled with Kansas City’s loss to Oakland on Sunday, moved Indianapolis (10-6) up to the three seed, and into a playoff rematch with New York.

Benching several key starters for most or all of Sunday’s game against the Bills, the Jets dominated on both sides of the ball to win for just the second time in five games, while reaching eleven regular season wins for the first time in a dozen years.

New York’s offense got three touchdowns from backup quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Kellen Clemens, and a career-high 158 rushing yards from backup, rookie running back Joe McKnight.

Meanwhile, the Bills couldn’t score against the Jets’ defense, which forced six turnovers while allowing just six first downs and 162 total yards.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez played only the Jets’ first possession, without throwing a pass, to protect a slightly injured right throwing shoulder, and key Jet inactives included New York’s top two rushers, running backs Shonn Green and LaDainian Tomlinson, starting cornerback Darrelle Revis, and starting safety Eric Smith (who was previously a second-stringer, replacing the injured, usual starter Jim Leonhard, in recent weeks).

But, the Jets’ backups picked up the slack.

Veteran backup Mark Brunell (6-12, 110 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack) threw touchdown passes right before, and just after, throwing an interception that was returned for the Bills’ only score.

Later, Brunell’s backup, Kellen Clemens, one of three Jets (along with utility man Brad Smith) to play quarterback on Sunday, added a 10-yard touchdown run.

And, usual reserve, second-year cornerback Marquis Cole, who entered the game with just 17 tackles and no career interceptions or scores, led the Jets with six tackles and two interceptions, the first of which was returned for the game’s initial touchdown.

It was clear early, that it wouldn’t be Buffalo’s day, as the Jets caught a break on the opening drive of the game, when Buffalo wide receiver Stevie Johnson (5 catches, 72 yards) fumbled while trying to add extra yards to the end of a 33-yard reception to the Jets’ 18 yard-line.

The Jets recovered at their own 11 yard-line and keeping the ball solely on the ground, traveled 79 yards on 12 plays, using up exactly half of the first quarter, to take a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Nick Folk, with 4:58 left in the first quarter. Utility man Brad Smith carried three times for 62 yards on the drive, including a nice 40-yard gain on an option run.

After the Bills’ first drive (which went for 55 yards, but which ended with Johnson’s fumble), Buffalo could get nothing going offensively for the rest of the game, with their own backups, Brian Brohm (whose only prior NFL start came last year, as a rookie) and rookie Levi Brown at quarterback.

Brohm, who was held to ten completions in 23 attempts, for 106 yards, was sacked three times, and threw three interceptions, while Brown went 2-for-3, for 24 yards, with an interception.

The Jets held the Bills to no more than 23 yards on any of Buffalo’s final twelve possessions, including eight single-yardage drives and five possessions that ended without positive yardage.

Early in the second quarter, linebacker Calvin Pace got in the face of Brohm, who sailed a weak pass that was intercepted by Cole and returned up the left sideline for 35-yard touchdown, to give the Jets a 10-0 lead with 9:07 left in the opening half.

Having completed just one pass (late in the first quarter) by the two-minute warning of the first half, the Jets finally moved the ball through the air with Brunell completing four of five passes during an 8-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with Brunell finding wide receiver Santonio Holmes (his only catch) on a 17-yard touchdown pass to the left, that extended the Jets’ lead to 17-0, with 15 seconds left in the half.

Three plays after halftime, safety Jarius Byrd intercepted a bad pass to the right flat by Brunell, and returned it 37 yards, to pull the Bills to within 17-7, just 1:44 into the second half.

But, Brunell rebounded two possessions later, with a 52-yard strike to wide receiver Braylon Edwards (his only catch), to put the Jets up, 24-7, with 6:41 left in the third quarter.

The Jets added two more scores in the final period, taking advantage of Bills’ interceptions each time (the first of those two picks was the second career interception for Pace).

A short, 5-play 27-yard drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Clemens, and on the next possession, rookie fullback John Conner (8 rushes, 44 yards, 1 TD) closed the scoring by capping a 5-play, 34-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.

Giving McKnight 32 attempts, the Jets rushed 50 times in 66 plays and held a tremendous ground advantage of 276-37 yards.

With their full compliment of starters returning next week, the Jets, who rode a five seed to Indianapolis last year, will seek revenge against the Colts while trying to begin another playoff run as the AFC’s lowest seed at the same venue where New York’s playoff run ended last year.

The Jets will battle the Colts on Saturday night, at 8 pm, in Lucas Oil Stadium, on NBC-TV.

Despite some typical early growing pains, the New York Jets have been very lucky to have had second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez leading their offense.

Sanchez came through as a rookie during a surprising playoff run that had the Jets 28 minutes from Super Bowl XLIV in last year’s AFC title game in Indianapolis.

This year, overcoming some struggles earlier in games, Sanchez repeatedly helped the Jets pull out several dramatic wins in the final moments, helping New York to a 9-2 record.

But after a 45-3 defeat in what was supposed to be a first-place showdown in New England, and a disappointing, rain-soaked, 10-6 loss to division rival Miami (7-6), Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan may not be feeling so lucky to have Sanchez and his signal caller anymore.

Prior to the Jets’ meeting with the Dolphins at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday, Ryan said “I think (the New England) loss was just a bump in the road. We’ll respond really well and we’ll know a lot about our team after these next four weeks.”

That “bump” just became a pretty big hill to climb as Ryan considered benching Sanchez during the third quarter of the Jets’ fourth single-digit offensive output (all losses) of the season.

The Jets’ offense has operated in extremes this year.

With Sanchez and the Jets’ offense clicking, New York (9-4) scored between 23 and 38 points, averaging 27.2 points per game, in their nine wins this season.

The Jets needed Sanchez and the offense to step up and bail out a defense that hasn’t been nearly as dominant as it was last year, when it was the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

In those nine victories, the Jets allowed 20 or more points six times.

The losses however, have been a completely different story, and that seems to have gotten to Ryan after the Jets’ first multiple-game losing streak of the season.

In three of the Jets’ four losses, New York’s defense did look like last year’s version, allowing just 10 points twice and nine points once, but Sanchez and the Jets’ offense was shut out once and never scored more than nine points in any of their four losses.

It’s now been more than nine quarters and over 139 minutes since the Jets last scored an offensive touchdown in the third quarter of a home win against Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night.

Sunday’s inaccurate and mistake-prone performance by Sanchez, affected by a steady rain throughout most of the game, was enough to prevent the Jets from beating the Dolphins even though New York held Miami to just five completed passes, 55 yards passing, and 131 total yards of offense.

It was the second time in as many seasons that Miami – which used two kickoff returns of at least 100 yards and a fumble return for a touchdown last year – beat the Jets on the road while being held to a little more than 100 yards of total offense (Miami beat New York 30-25 at Giants Stadium last November, while gaining just 104 total yards).

On Sunday, the Dolphins took a 10-0 first-quarter lead off of two Sanchez turnovers.

On the Jets’ second possession of the game, Miami converted a Sanchez interception into a 47-yard field goal. Sanchez then fumbled the next time the Jets had the ball, and Miami turned that break into the game’s only touchdown, a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chad Henne to wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

That would prove to be all the Dolphins would need, with Sanchez and the Jets’ offense sputtering for most of the game.

New York managed only 280 yards of offense themselves, while managing only a field goal in the second quarter and another in the fourth, in fifteen possessions. In addition to committing a couple of turnovers, the Jets punted eight times and turned the ball over on downs three times.

Sanchez finished the game just 17 of 44 for 216 yards, while being sacked six times.

Forty year-old quarterback Mark Brunell, who once enjoyed a successful NFL career for several years with Jacksonville before later having a sixth 3,000-yard passing season with Washington in 2005, doesn’t appear to be a better choice over Sanchez, having thrown just 31 total passes since the 2006 season.

But, that might just be how much Ryan’s level of faith has quickly diminished in his young first-string quarterback.

It would appear that it might not get any easier for Sanchez and the Jets next week, as New York travels to face a tough defense in AFC North-leading Pittsburgh (10-3), the AFC’s only team to allow less than 200 points (15.9 per game) this season.

The Steelers, winners of four straight, mostly shut down the run, however. Against the pass, Pittsburgh ranked 23rd, allowing 239.3 passing yards per game, entering this weekend. So, there may be some opportunities for Sanchez to once again prove to Ryan that he needs to stay on the field to help the Jets return to their earlier winning form.

In addition to writing for New York Sports Day, Jon Wagner contributes at Pro Football NYC (www.profootballnyc.com) and Giants Football Blog (www.giantsfootballblog.com).

Fortunately, for the New York Jets, football isn’t like gymnastics, diving, ice skating, or ballroom dancing.

There are no style points.

Just the points on the scoreboard relative to your opponents’ and it’s all about wins, which the Jets (9-2) continue to rack up, no matter how they look.

After very nearly giving away all of five previous wins against losing teams (Minnesota, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, and Houston), the Jets again looked mostly unimpressive in sending Cincinnati (2-9) to its eighth consecutive loss, while earning their fourth straight victory on Thursday night at the New Meadowlands stadium.

This time, there were no late heroics needed, as in the Jets’ five previous wins, and as suggested by the final score of 26-10, but it certainly wasn’t that easy. Once again.

Nevertheless, New York is off to its second-best start ever (eclipsed by only the 1986 Jets, who began 10-1) after overcoming a 7-3 halftime deficit in the Jets’ first ever chance at hosting a Thanksgiving Day game.

Along theme of the holiday, the Jets mostly have seldom-used, yet all-around occasional threat, Brad Smith, and a key questionable call, to thank profusely for finding another way to win ugly.

After each team punted twice during opening quarter, the Jets drove 9 plays in 69 yards, but settled for a 3-0 second-quarter lead on a 27-yard field goal by Nick Folk. New York however, would then punt and end the half on a 44-yard missed field goal attempt by Folk.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer (17-38, 135 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3 sacks) was intercepted twice on each of the Bengals’ next two possessions. The first pick, by safety Jim Leonhard, was New York’s first in seven games, ending the Jets’ longest drought in 31 years.

But, Palmer bounced back on Cincinnati’s next possession, completing 5 of 8 passes on a 10-play, 63-yard drive which he capped with a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Shipley (team-high 5 catches for 38 yards, 1 TD), to give the Bengals their only lead, 7-3, with 43 seconds left before halftime.

It didn’t take long after that for Smith, who entered the game with only 27 plays from scrimmage (three receiving, 24 rushing) all season, to put his stamp on the game.

Two plays into the third quarter, Smith, after a fake handoff up the middle, moved right to left, to take an end-around handoff and score on a 53-yard touchdown run, to put New York ahead to stay, 10-7, just 47 seconds into the third quarter.

After the Bengals punted, Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez (16-28, 166 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sack) was intercepted by linebacker Rey Maulaga at the Jets’ 37 yard-line.

Cincinnati moved to the New York 9 yard-line, but came away with nothing as kicker Aaron Pettrey missed a chip-shot 27-yard field goal that would have tied the game with 6:32 left in the third quarter.

The Jets then appeared to go three-and-out, but a 39-yard punt by punter Steve Weatherford to the Bengals’ 36-yard line, was ruled to have inadvertently hit the leg of kick returner Andre Caldwell, who was blocking on the play, with his back to the ball.

Television replays showed that might not have been the case, but referees allowed the Jets to recover the bouncing ball and take over at the Cincinnati 14-yard line. That set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Santonio Holmes (team-high 5 catches for 44 yards, 1 TD), two plays later, to extend the Jets’ lead to 17-7.

The teams then traded punts, before Pettrey redeemed himself with a 28-yard field goal to trim the Jets’ lead to 17-10, with 12:33 left in the game.

But, Smith (3 rushes, 55 yards, 1 rushing TD) struck again and put himself into the record books. He returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, going more than half of that distance on a single shoe, as he became only the fourth NFL player and  first Jet to score on kick return and rushing touchdowns, each of at least 50 yards, in the same game.

The score gave the Jets a 24-10 lead, which was never threatened by the Bengals thereafter.

In fact, Cincinnati moved backwards, finishing with drives of -4, -6, -6, and 0 yards on their final four possessions. The third of those resulted in a safety when Brooklyn-born defensive end Trevor Pryce sacked Palmer in the end zone.

While Jets let the Bengals hang around a lot longer than they should have, two areas where they dominated, were in the rushing game, and defensively (particularly after halftime).

Led by running back Shonn Greene’s 70 yards on 18 carries, New York obliterated Cincinnati on the ground, 170-46, and held the Bengals to only 163 total yards, including a ridiculously low 39 yards on 30 second-half plays.

Holding the lead in the race for top spot in the AFC through their first eleven games, yet struggling to put away so many bad teams this season, the Jets are all but a sure bet to reach the playoffs while remaining an enigma as to what they might accomplish should they get there.

That question could very well be answered one way or the other, next week, with a highly anticipated AFC East showdown, between two well-rested teams, which will each be playing for the first time in eleven days, on Monday Night Football, when New York visits New England (9-2) on December 6th.

The Patriots enter that game after scoring the final 28 points to erase a 24-17 deficit and win 45-24, in Detroit, on Thanksgiving afternoon. That win gave New England sole possession of first place for just a few hours, until the Jets regained the AFC East lead by beating Cincinnati.

In addition to writing for New York Sports Day, Jon Wagner contributes at Pro Football NYC (www.profootballnyc.com) and Giants Football Blog (www.giantsfootballblog.com)

How do you spell clutch? It’s obvious by now, that it’s J-E-T-S.

Blowing a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead at home and needing a touchdown with under a minute left might be demoralizing for most NFL teams.

But, when the New York Jets (8-2) were in that position against the Houston Texans (4-6) at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday, the Jets had the Texans right where they wanted them.

Given the events of recent weeks, it was just a matter of time before quarterback Mark Sanchez would find wide receiver Santonio Holmes to save the day for the Jets yet again.

Sure enough, the two connected on a 6-yard touchdown pass with just ten seconds left, to stun the Texans, 30-27.

It was Holmes who drew a pass interference call on a desperation fourth down heave from Sanchez to key a comeback win in Denver in Week 6. Two games later, Sanchez hit Holmes for 52 yards on the second play of overtime to set up a game-winning, overtime field goal in Detroit. Last week, Holmes beat the clock on a 37-yard touchdown catch from Sanchez with 16 seconds left in an overtime win in Cleveland.

“I swear it’s like Groundhog Day,” Sanchez told reporters after the game.

For more than three quarters, it appeared that the Jets would break that trend finally win in easy fashion.

Punt returner Jim Leonard returned a punt 30 yards to start the Jets’ first possession in great field position, at the Texans’ 29 yard-line, which set up a 37-yard field goal by kicker Nick Folk, which gave the Jets an early 3-0 lead.

Houston was then able to take its first lead on an 11-play, 67-yard drive that began late in the first quarter. Running back Arian Foster (22 carries, game-high 84 yards, 2 TD) finished the march with a 2-yard touchdown run, to put the Texans up, 7-3, with 10:17 left in the first half.

New York answered though, scoring on both of its second-quarter possessions. Sanchez (22-38, 315 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks) completed passes of 21, 26, and 27 yards on a 10-play, 78-yard drive that he finished with a 4-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Braylon Edwards (4 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD) which gave the Jets a 10-7 lead, with 5:18 left in the half.

A quick three-and-out and a short 31-yard punt ensued for Houston, setting the Jets up on the Texans’ 48 yard-line. From there, New York moved 33 yards on eight plays to grab a 13-7 halftime lead on a 33-yard field goal by Folk.

The Jets then went 30 yards on ten plays to start the third quarter, but Folk missed a 53-yard field goal.

New York scored on its next possession however, going 92 yards on nine plays, in 4:06, taking a 20-7 lead on a 41-yard strike from Sanchez to Holmes (7 catches, 126 yards, 2 TD).

Two possessions later, Foster fumbled with 1:19 left in the third quarter, and the Jets took over at the Texans’ 17 yard-line. That led to a 30-yard field goal by Folk which gave New York a seemingly comfortable 23-7 lead with 14:51 left in the game.

But, Houston stormed back as the Jets’ offense turned the ball over twice, while their defense, ranked first in the NFL last year, and which entered the game ranked fifth this year, fell apart down the stretch once again this season.

Quarterback Matt Schaub (19-33, 254, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack) completed passes of 31, 14, and 13 yards to quickly move the Texans into Jets’ territory. Four plays later, kicker Neil Rackers made a 38-yard field goal to trim New York’s lead to 23-10 with 12:21 left in the game.

The Jets then moved 38 yards to the Texans’ 41 yard-line, but running back Shonn Green (15 carries, 42 yards) fumbled and Houston received the ball at the New York 43 yard-line.

The Texans got back in the game on the next play, as Schaub threw a 43-yard touchdown to tight Joel Dressen (a 6th-round pick by the Jets in 2005), who burned his former team to draw Houston to within 23-17, with 9:14 remaining.

Shortly thereafter, the Texans took the lead following a Jets’ punt. Schaub completed passes of 35 and 20 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster that gave Houston its first lead, 24-23, with 2:18 to go.

Two plays later, Sanchez threw his only interception of the game, which gave Houston the ball at the New York 10 yard-line.

That time, the Jets’ defense was able to hold, but Rackers made a 22-yard field goal with just 55 seconds left, to put the Texans up 27-23, and force New York to need a touchdown to win.

No problem, for the 2010 Jets, according to tight end Dustin Keller (2 catches, 7 yards). “We don’t think we’re ever out of it at all,” Keller said. “We tick ourselves off when we put ourselves in those situations, but we know that we’re always capable of coming back in any game in any situation.”

Starting from the Jets’ 28 yard-line with 49 seconds remaining, Sanchez completed passes of five and 19 yards to running back LaDainian Tomlinson (12 carries for 36 yards, 7 catches for 71 yards), who during the game, passed former Jet great Curtis Martin for seventh place on the NFL’s career yards from scrimmage list, with 17,452 combined rushing and receiving yards.

After an incompletion, Sanchez then threw a great ball to Edwards for a 42-yard gain up the right sideline, to the Texans’ 6 yard-line.

That set up the Jets’ latest miracle finish of 2010 on the next play, as Sanchez calmly found Holmes in the far left corner of the end zone for the winning score, giving New York its third straight win while handing Houston its fourth consecutive loss.

“We’re cutting it awfully close,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think anybody has any finger nails left if they’re a Jets fan.”

On one hand, credit the Jets for continually pulling games out of the fire to remain in the lead for the AFC’s top playoff seed. That’s what championship teams do, but the reality of the Jets’ season thus far, is that the comebacks might be deluding.

The flip side is that championship teams also beat up on teams with losing records, and each of the Jets’ four dramatic comebacks have come against losing teams, none of which the Jets should have struggled to beat.

A true championship caliber team might be winning those games the way the Jets had beaten the Texans through three quarters, rather than with the aid of last-minute escapes each time.

For now, Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan doesn’t seem to mind how his team plays as long as the Jets keep winning. “I want to apologize to all the Jets fans for affecting the heart here, a little bit,” he said. But, we’ll take the win. If I have to apologize for it every week from here on out, I will, all the way to the Super Bowl.”

Perhaps, next week, he won’t have to, should the Jets easily put away the Cincinnati Bengals (2-8) – New York’s 2009 playoff foe, but now, losers of seven straight – when the two teams meet at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Thanksgiving night, at 8:20pm EST.

In addition to NYSD, Jon Wagner contributes at Pro Football NYC (www.profootballnyc.com) and Giants Football Blog (www.giantsfootballblog.com)

When New York Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan decided to risk a fake punt on 4th-and-18 from his team’s own 20 yard-line during a scoreless game in the first quarter, he did so believing his defense was good enough to allow at worst, a field goal –- and that his offense would more than make up for that.

It turned out that Ryan was partially right, as the Jets’ defense kept the Green Bay Packers out of the end zone and limited them to just three points after the Jets failed to turn the fake into a first down.

But, the last thing that Ryan ever envisioned at that moment was that the field goal would be the game’s only points until past the halfway point of the fourth quarter.

It was just one of several mistakes that haunted the Jets (5-2) on a day when Gang Green’s offense was frighteningly ineffective, in a 9-0 horrow show of a loss to the Packers (5-3), who won their second straight game on a windy Halloween Sunday afternoon at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Ryan would make some other decisions later on that would also backfire, but the Jets were also done in by an inability to protect the ball and by a couple of calls that didn’t go their way, like the way you find in online sports betting.

First, there was the faked punt.

With neither offense getting much of anything going early, each team’s punters were the stars of the game, each averaging 50 yards or better in the first quarter, giving each opposing offense poor field position to start their drives in the period.

The one time that didn’t happen however, was when Jets’ punter Steve Weatherford, concluded the Jets’ third possession of the quarter with the aforementioned fake. Weatherford stepped out of bounds at the New York 36 yard-line, with the ball at the 36-and-a-half, about a yard-and-a-half short of the first down marker.

On the next play, Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings (6 catches, 81 yards) took a pass over the middle from quarterback Aaron Rodgers (15-34, 170 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 59.7 rating), and turned it into a 30-yard gain to the Jets’ 6 yard-line.

At the time, no one in the building would have imagined that play would have already been enough to win the game, but in essence it was. The Jets’ defense held through three Packer cracks at a touchdown, but a 20-yard field goal by kicker Mason Crosby with 4:41 left in the first quarter, to give Green Bay a 3-0 lead, would stand up for the rest of the game.

Although the Jets, running 29 times, outgained the Packers 119-81 on the ground, they weren’t able to run quite effectively enough to open up a passing game that like Green Bay’s, was severely affected by the infamous Meadowlands wind which picked Sunday’s holiday to play tricks on both quarterbacks.

The Jets also held an advantage in passing yards (241-156), but aside from the fake punt, their other possessions ended in with five punts, three turnovers, a missed field goal, and two other times that they turned the ball over on downs.

Green Bay wasn’t much better, punting eight times and missing a field goal of their own, despite adding two more fourth-quarter field goals to ice the game.

With the offense struggling to score, the Jets, appropriately for the date, resorted to further trickery, but each time, it wouldn’t work.

Having moved from their own 30 yard-line to the Packers’ 36 yard-line after Green Bay’s first field goal, New York tried to run Brad Smith out of the wildcat offense, but Smith fumbled.

Ryan challenged the call, which was a good one, and Green Bay was correctly awarded possession, which would end in yet another punt, but one that pinned the Jets back at their own 10 yard-line.

It was one of five times on the day that Green Bay punter Tim Masthay, an undrafted rookie out of Kentucky, forced the Jets to start from inside their own 20 yard-line.

New York also began four other possessions between its own 20 and 27 yard-lines.

Later in the second quarter, one play after running back LaDanian Tomlinson (16 rushes for 54 yards) joined Walter Payton as the only two players to ever reach at least 13,000 rushing yards and 4,000 receiving yards in a career, Tomlinson looked to throw off an option run, but that bit of deception didn’t work either, as the Packers covered well and Tomlinson was tackled after only a modest gain.

A few plays later, wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery (4 catches, 89 yards) appeared to have a reception at the Green Bay 41 yard-line on what looked like simultaneous possession with cornerback Tramon Williams, with the tie-up going to the offense, as Cotchery went to the ground with 4:48 left in the first half.

The play however, was initially ruled and interception. Ryan challenged the call, which was upheld, thereby leaving New York without a challenge for the remainder of the game.

That played a major factor later on, as a drive that started in the third quarter ended with another questionable Packer interception with 10:34 left in the game.

After going 61 yards on 7 plays only to miss a 37-yard field goal that would have tied the game in the third quarter, the Jets, starting at their own five yard-line on their ensuing possession, moved 48 yards on 10 plays to the Packers’ 37-yard line.

A holding penalty moved the ball back to the Green Bay 47 yard-line before Mark Sanchez (16-38, 256 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks, 43.3 rating) was intercepted by cornerback Charles Woodson, who ripped the ball from tight end Dustin Keller. Unlike Williams’ play on Cotchery, replays clearly showed the call was missed when Woodson was awarded with the pick and ruled down by contact. Keller should have been ruled down, with possession.

Ah, but remember those two challenges Ryan couldn’t get overturned in the first half? Well, no recourse for that play any longer and to bet on the NFL.

Green Bay turned that fortunate trick into a treat in the form of a 41-yard field goal by Crosby with 6:36 left in the game, to take a 6-0 lead, after going 34 yards on 8 plays.

The Jets then drove from their own 19 yard-line to the Packers’ 37 yard-line, but they turned the ball over on downs with 4:12 to go after Sanchez misfired on three straight passes.

Bothered by the wind, Sanchez accepted blame for his inaccuracy, saying, “Some passes got away from me… we left a lot of completions out there.”

Ryan then began using his time outs perhaps a little too soon, but the Jets couldn’t muster a meaningful drive the next time they had the ball anyway, again turning the ball over on downs at their own 22-yard line with 2:30 remaining.

That led to a 40-yard Crosby field goal with 27 seconds left, to close the scoring.

Although one turnover came on a questionable call and another happened due to a bad call, the three turnovers for the Jets sounded the continuation of an alarming recent trend for New York.

After four straight games without a turnover (to tie an NFL record), and committing just one turnover in their first five games, the Jets turned the ball over three times for the second straight game.

The time off last week might have also affected the Jets’ momentum. While Ryan said, “We were fresher and healthier then we’ve ever been,” the bye week from the week before seemed to slow down what had been one of the NFL’s hottest teams.

After losing their home opener, the Jets reeled off five straight wins before last week’s bye. Now, not only is that streak over, but the Jets have also relinquished their hold on first place in the AFC East to New England (6-1), which is now the league’s hottest team with its own five-game winning streak.

Suffering their first shutout loss since a 10-0 home defeat to Chicago on November 19, 2006, the Jets will look to get back on track against the Lions (2-5) in Detroit next Sunday, at 1pm EST.

In addition to NYSD, Jon Wagner contributes at Pro Football NYC (www.profootballnyc.com) and Giants Football Blog (www.giantsfootballblog.com)

New York Jet fans had this game circled on the calendar ever since ex-Jet Brett Favre’s latest “unretirement” this past summer.

Although they waited a little longer, through a weather delay at the start, and then through some tenuous moments in the fourth quarter, Jet fans finally got what they waited for – a victory over their former quarterback and his Minnesota Vikings (1-3), and a fourth straight win for the Jets (4-1), by a score of 29-20, on Monday Night Football at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

For more than 2½ quarters, in a driving rain, it appeared that Favre and the Vikings would go very quietly and do very little, with Jets’ kicker Nick Folk accounting for all of the scoring on four consecutive field goals to give the Jets a 12-0 lead.

Given the way the Jets’ defense contained Favre and the Minnesota offense to that point, Jet fans were more than happy to wait 45 minutes for the opening kickoff due to lightning being spotted in the area, and to see running back LaDanian Tomlinson (20 carries for a game-high 94 yards) single-handedly gain more yards (50) on the ground than the Vikings amassed in total (40) in the opening quarter.

Tomlinson would slightly edge Vikings’ star running back Adrian Peterson (18 rushes for 88 yards) for the game, to help the Jets to 155-96 rushing advantage, as Minnesota allowed its most rushing yards since December, 2006.

By halftime, the Jets held a dominant 206-51 advantage in total yards, along with a 9-0 lead, while holding Favre to only 31 yards passing on just 3 completions in 7 attempts. Favre also mishandled a snap with 4 minutes left in the half, leading to Folk’s third field goal. The miscue was the 162nd of Favre’s 20-year career, tying him with Warren Moon for the most NFL fumbles ever.

Favre then broke that record on the Vikings’ first possession of the third quarter, when he fumbled again, a turnover than led to Folk’s fourth field goal in as many attempts, with 8:49 left in the period.

By then, the Minnesota offense was doing so little (starting the game with six punts, Favre’s two fumbles, and a total of 58 yards on the Vikings’ first eight possessions), it didn’t matter that the Jets’ offense settled for nothing but fields goals despite already starting three possessions in Minnesota territory, and running 35 of the first 37 plays of the game to occur in an opponents’ end of the field.

But, when the rain stopped and passing conditions improved, Favre and the Vikings’ offense finally made the necessary adjustments to the Jets’ relentless blitz packages, and quickly got back in the game.

Favre rebounded from his miserable first half to throw for 233 yards and three touchdowns, despite a going an inaccurate 11-for-27 in the second half.

He also achieved two milestones while trying to rally the Vikings during the second half. On Minnesota’s ninth possession, Favre became the first player in NFL history to surpass 70,000 passing yards, and later on the same drive, he became the first NFL player to throw 500 touchdown passes, capping a 10-play, 72-yard possession with a 37-yard strike up the right sideline to wide receiver Randy Moss (4 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD), who made some history of his own.

Moss became the first NFL player to play on Monday Night Football in consecutive weeks, after rejoining the team that drafted him in the first round in 1998, after helping New England to a MNF win in Miami last week.

Simply having a fellow future hall of fame weapon like Moss, whom Favre coveted since Moss’ days in Minnesota, meant more to Favre than the milestones he reached. On those, Favre said after the game, “It’s all about the wins,” regretting the loss to the Jets and the Vikings underachieving 1-3 start more than relishing his landmark accomplishments. But, on the touchdown to Moss, Favre admitted, “I’ve been thinking about that for 8 to 10 years.”

Kick returner Brad Smith immediately got the Jets back in business after Moss’ touchdown, with an 86-yard kickoff return to the Minnesota 19 yard-line. But, all that led to was the Jets starting a fourth possession in Viking territory without a touchdown, as New York settled for Folk’s fifth field goal, which put the Jets ahead, 15-7, heading into the final quarter.

Starting a 5-play, 65-yard drive in the final minute of the third quarter, the Vikings closed to within 15-13 with 12:47 left in the game, on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Favre to wide receiver Percy Harvin (5 catches, game-high 97 yards, 2 TD).

Minnesota didn’t need to go for a two-point conversion at that point, and things might have worked out better for the Vikings later on, had they opted to kick the extra point, instead. After lining up for the PAT, Minnesota called a timeout, then went for two, and failed.

That became significant, because after the teams traded punts, the Jets drove 66 yards on 6 plays, to lead 22-13 on a 23-yard touchdown burst by running back Shonn Greene (10 rushes, 57 yards, 1 TD), with 4:30 left.

Favre would again answer, taking the Vikings 54 yards on 5 plays in just 1:11, finding Harvin for an 11-yard score with 3:09 remaining. Had the Vikings kicked the PAT after they previous touchdown, they could have gone for two, to tie the game at 22-22, but having failed on the earlier two-point attempt, Minnesota could only kick the PAT to pull to within 22-20.

The Jets then had their own brain lock with time management. With a chance to wait for the two-minute warning and then run one more play afterwards, to leave Favre and the Vikings less time, New York snapped the ball too soon. Quarterback Mark Sanchez (21 of 44, 191 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) threw too high and incomplete on 3rd-and-11, and after a fourth-down punt, the Vikings had plenty of time left with 1:48 on the clock, needing just a field goal to win, starting from their own 16 yard-line.

However, two plays later, Favre would make two misguided throws that would seal the Vikings’ Fate.

On 2nd-and-10, Favre rolled away from pressure, to his right, and had Harvin wide open at the Minnesota 24 yard-line. Harvin had plenty of room, possibly enough to score, or at least to get well into Jets’ territory. But, what should have been an easy dump-off pass, sailed well high of Harvin and incomplete.

One play later, cornerback Dwight Lowery stepped in front of a ball that Favre tried to force to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, and raced untouched, 26 yards, into the end zone, to ice the game for the Jets, with 1:30 left.

Favre’s only interception extended another NFL record – one he didn’t want – his 324th career interception.

In contrast to Favre’s three turnovers, the Jets, who sacked Favre four times, tied an NFL record by playing their fourth straight game without committing a turnover.

Favre (14 of 34, 264 yards) was impressed with the Jets’ play, saying “We played what I feel like is the best team in the AFC.”

The first-place Jets will be seeking their fifth straight win next Sunday in Denver, at 4:05 EST, against the Broncos (2-3), who have alternated losses and wins each week since the start of the season. That trend would indicate a Denver win in that case, with the Broncos coming off a loss in Baltimore on Sunday. However, Denver will be banged up, having already ruled out five players (who were hurt in Baltimore) next Sunday.

When Rex Ryan boasted all summer about how his team would win the Super Bowl this season, the type of performance he saw from his team in the second half of the Jets’ game with the New England Patriots on Sunday was exactly what the New York Jets’ head coach envisioned.

After failing to back up Ryan’s words with a lackluster season opening effort in a loss to Baltimore last week, the Jets (1-1) turned it on after halftime on Sunday, outscoring the New England Patriots (1-1) 18-0 in the second half to rally for a solid 28-14 victory at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Unlike last week, the Jets took the conservative reigns off of quarterback Mark Sanchez, and it paid off, as Sanchez outdueled Patriots’ star quarterback Tom Brady, going 21 of 30 for 220 yards, and 3 touchdowns for a 124.3 quarterback rating.

Brady meanwhile, was 20 of 36, for 248 yards, and two touchdowns, but he threw two picks and lost a fumble on New England’s final drive.

That was just part of the havoc the Jets’ defense caused the Patriots, as that unit was able to step without star shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis, who left just before halftime after aggravating a hamstring injury he suffered in practice earlier in the week.

Sans Revis, the Jets’ defense took over the game in the second half, during which the Patriots committed all three of their turnovers, while gaining a total of just 14 yards and punting twice on their other two second-half possessions.

The Jets also played a lot more disciplined football than last week, when they lost one turnover and committed 14 penalties for 125 costly yards. Against New England, New York avoided any turnovers and cut the penalties down to just 6 for 58 yards.

It all added up to a much more successful formula, and a much-needed AFC East victory before the Jets travel to AFC East-leading Miami (2-0) next week.

The game didn’t start out that way for the Jets, however.

New England moved the ball well on its first two drives, while New York went three-and-out on its first possession.

The Patriots took the opening kickoff and went 53 yards in 13 plays, but kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a 37-yard field goal. On their next drive though, the Patriots went 75 yards on 15 plays in 8:10, with Brady throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Wes Welker, to give New England a 7-0 lead 1:43 into the second quarter.

The Jets then responded the next time they touched the ball, tying the game, 7-7, on a 12-play, 62-yard drive in 6:47, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass to the left side of the end zone to wide receiver Braylon Edwards (5 catches, 45 yards, 1 TD).

After the teams then traded punts, Brady needed just four plays and 48 seconds to get the Patriots back in the end zone. Brady threw a couple of incomplete passes, but then connected with rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez (who became the unlikely Patriots’ leader on the day with 101 receiving yards on 6 catches) for 46 yards to the Jets’ 34 yard-line. That set up a 34-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Randy Moss, who burned Revis before making a brilliant one-handed right-handed grab at the back of the end zone, to put New England ahead, 14-7, with 53 seconds left in the first half.

That was just enough time for Sanchez to direct the Jets with four completions in six attempts during a 7-play, 49-yard drive that culminated with a Nick Folk 49-yard field goal which trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 14-10 as the first half expired.

After that, the Jets took control of the game, especially holding the Patriots’ two biggest receiving threats –- Moss, and Welker — in check, with newcomer defensive backs Antonio Cromartie and Brodney Pool each grabbing second-half picks.

Moss’ touchdown (the 150th of his career) before halftime was his last reception and other than that catch, he caught only one other ball for a mere four yards. And, although Welker matched Hernandez’s 6 catches, the usual Jet killer finished with just the same 38 receiving yards that Moss had.

A frustrated Brady, put it very succinctly after the game, saying “We couldn’t do anything there in the second half… we couldn’t run it, we couldn’t throw it, we just sucked.”

In sharp contrast, the Jets, after a three-and-out to begin the second half, scored the game’s final 18 points on three of their next four possessions.

New York drove 80 yards on 10 plays in 4:47 to pull within 14-13 on a 36-yard field goal by Folk with 4:53 left in the third quarter. The key play on that drive was a 39-yard connection from Sanchez to tight end Dustin Keller, who led all receivers in catches (7) and receiving yards (115).

The Jets took the lead for good on their next possession, on a 6-play, 70-yard drive in 3:02 that was highlighted by a rushing game that outgained New England 136-52, led by running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who finished with a game-high 76 yards on 11 carries.

A good portion (31) of those yards came toward the end of that drive on a nice run up the right side which set up a two-yard touchdown toss from Sanchez to wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. Sanchez then completed to Edwards on a two-point conversion to put the Jets up 21-14, with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, New York put the game out of reach, capping an 8-play, 63-yard drive which took 4:59, on a 1-yard touchdown throw from Sanchez to Keller, to give the Jets a commanding 28-14 lead with 6:09 left in the game.

With the Patriots trying to rally, linebacker Jason Taylor sacked Brady on a first down from the New York 16 yard-line, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker David Harris (who had 4 tackles) with 4:06 left in the game.

The Jets were able to run out the clock on the ground from there, and take a lot of the pressure off of themselves that that Ryan’s unchecked swagger had placed on his team for months.

After all of the preseason Super Bowl talk, the prospect of playing in a media market like New York at 0-2, heading to first place Miami in Week 3 would have created a difficult situation for the Jets to handle and in which to succeed.

But, setting Sanchez free with Keller, Edwards, and Cotchery, and the contributions from newcomers like Cromartie, Pool, Tomlinson, and Taylor, were enough to at least for one game, have the Jets finally looking like the team Ryan told us his Jets would be this season.

The New York Jets were trailing the Baltimore Ravens by just a point with no time outs left and time running down. Facing a 4th-down-and-10 from their own 31 yard-line, the Jets desperately needed to keep their final drive going and get into field goal range for a potential game-winning kick.

That’s when quarterback Mark Sanchez found tight end Dustin Keller wide open on a short pass in the right flat.

Keller made the catch and alertly hustled out of bounds to try to save the Jets some precious seconds on the clock.

There was just one problem.

Although Keller was all alone and could have easily turned up field for an extra yard or two before heading for the sidelines, he brain locked, and stepped out one yard short of the first down marker with 36 seconds left in the game.

It was a very fitting end to a frustratingly inept night for New York’s offense during a 10-9 loss in the Jets’ New Meadowlands Stadium opener before 78,127 in attendance and a Monday Night Football national television audience.

As unbelievable as Keller’s inattention to detail at the most crucial of moments was, consider some of what took place for the Jets’ offense over the course of the entire game:

• The Jets tied their franchise low for first downs (6) and two of those came in the final 6:13 of the game.

• The Ravens ran more plays (75) than the number of yards passed for (74) by Sanchez (who was 10 of 21 with neither a pick nor a touchdown).

• New York amassed just 60 net passing yards (their fewest since 2006) and ran just 44 plays (their fewest since 2005), while controlling the clock for only 21:28 to Baltimore’s 38:32.

• No Jet caught more than two passes, and wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery’s 13-yard catch at the end of the third quarter was the Jets’ lone pass play that went for double digit yardage.

• Although the Jets outrushed the Ravens 116-49, they gained just 176 total yards while negating much of that with 14 penalties for a total of 125 yards (their most penalty yards since 1988). Ten of those penalties, for 100 yards, came in the first half.

• While Baltimore converted 11 of 19 third downs, the Jets failed to convert on their first nine, going 1-for-11 on third downs and converting their first third down attempt with just 1:03 left in the game.

• The Jets failed to score a touchdown and couldn’t reach double digits in points despite the Ravens committing three of the game’s four turnovers and the Jets starting inside Baltimore’s 40 yard-line four different times.

Of course, Jets fans should have seen all of this coming very early, after Gang Green’s defense gave the Jets’ offense a golden opportunity on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage.

After Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco (20-38, 248 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) found himself crunched in a Shaun Ellis and Bryan Thomas sandwich, nose tackle Sione Pouha recovered the first of his two fumbles in the opening quarter.

So, what did the Jets do, starting their second possession from the Ravens’ 11-yard line?

They gained a whole six yards on three plays and settled for a 3-0 lead 4:06 into the game on a 23-yard field goal from kicker Nick Folk.

Holding the ball for 9:11, Baltimore then drove 48 yards on 14 plays, but came away with nothing when running back Willis McGahee was stripped and Pouha came away with his second fumble recovery.

Following that, each team traded punts until the Jets got a 32-yard punt return from Jim Leonhard to the Ravens’ 37 yard-line. Once again though, the Jets stalled after getting as far as the Baltimore 10-yard line, and a Folk field goal from 28 yards out gave the Jets a 6-0 lead with 8:16 left in the half.

The Ravens then drove to the Jets’ 20-yard line, but Flacco was intercepted near the Jets’ end zone along the left sideline by newcomer Antonio Cromartie, who recorded his first pick as a Jet and returned the ball 66 yards to the Baltimore 31 yard-line.

Two plays later though, running back Shonn Greene fumbled to spoil another great chance for the Jets.

Baltimore took advantage of that mistake, going 76 yards on 11 plays in 4:09, to take its first lead, 7-6, on a one-yard touchdown plunge by McGahee with six seconds left in the opening half.

The drive was kept alive twice by Jet mistakes. First, Braylon Edwards ran into kicker Billy Cundiff on a field goal attempt, and three plays later, rookie cornerback Kyle Wilson was flagged for pass interference in the end zone on a 3rd-and-10 play from the Jets’ 22 yard-line.

Again, the teams traded punts at the start of the third quarter before the Ravens embarked on the game’s longest drive, travelling 85 yards in 9 plays from their own 8-yard line in 4:30, extending their lead to 10-6 on a Cundiff 25-yard field goal with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Two key plays on the drive were completions of 38 and 27 yards, each from Flacco to wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who had a great debut as a Raven after spending seven seasons in Arizona.

Though the Jets’ defense performed well overall (limiting the Ravens to 282 total yards), it was torched by Boldin, who had game highs of seven receptions and 110 yards.

The way the Jets’ offense and the Ravens’ defense were playing, the slim margin the Ravens held with still over 22 minutes left in the game, proved to be insurmountable for New York.

After Leonard again set the Jets up nicely with a 22-yard punt return to the Ravens’ 35-yard line, the New York could only muster five yards on three plays, settling for a 48-yard field goal by Folk that hooked inside the right upright with 11:59 left in the game, to trim the Ravens’ lead to what eventually became the final score of 10-9.

It’s of course just one game, and as we saw last season, a team can see a lot of peaks and valleys between its season opener and Week 17. Remember, last year’s Jets began 3-0 and then went 4-7, before winning four straight to position themselves two quarters from the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

However, when you do as much talking and boasting as Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan does, you don’t want to be humbled during your first ever game in your new stadium with an undisciplined, mistake-filled performance that was far from making Jets’ fans believe in Ryan’s earlier words that the Jets “expect to win every week.”

In that regard, the Jets will get a quick chance to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd and possibly win their first game at the New Meadowlands, when they host New England (1-0), on Sunday, at 4:15pm EST.

However, for openers, the Jets were supposed to back up all of their talk from HBO’s “Hard Knocks series. Instead, Jet Nation saw a version of different HBO show, as in the Ravens’ curbing the Jets’ enthusiasm.

The New York Jets were trailing the Baltimore Ravens by just a point with no time outs left and time running down. Facing a 4th-down-and-10 from their own 31 yard-line, the Jets desperately needed to keep their final drive going and get into field goal range for a potential game-winning kick.

That’s when quarterback Mark Sanchez found tight end Dustin Keller wide open on a short pass in the right flat.

Keller made the catch and alertly hustled out of bounds to try to save the Jets some precious seconds on the clock.

There was just one problem.

Although Keller was all alone and could have easily turned up field for an extra yard or two before heading for the sidelines, he brain locked, and stepped out one yard short of the first down marker with 36 seconds left in the game.

It was a very fitting end to a frustratingly inept night for New York’s offense during a 10-9 loss in the Jets’ New Meadowlands Stadium opener before 78,127 in attendance and a Monday Night Football national television audience.

As unbelievable as Keller’s inattention to detail at the most crucial of moments was, consider some of what took place for the Jets’ offense over the course of the entire game:

• The Jets tied their franchise low for first downs (6) and two of those came in the final 6:13 of the game.

• The Ravens ran more plays (75) than the number of yards passed for (74) by Sanchez (who was 10 of 21 with neither a pick nor a touchdown).

• New York amassed just 60 net passing yards (their fewest since 2006) and ran just 44 plays (their fewest since 2005), while controlling the clock for only 21:28 to Baltimore’s 38:32.

• No Jet caught more than two passes, and wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery’s 13-yard catch at the end of the third quarter was the Jets’ lone pass play that went for double digit yardage.

• Although the Jets outrushed the Ravens 116-49, they gained just 176 total yards while negating much of that with 14 penalties for a total of 125 yards (their most penalty yards since 1988). Ten of those penalties, for 100 yards, came in the first half.

• While Baltimore converted 11 of 19 third downs, the Jets failed to convert on their first nine, going 1-for-11 on third downs and converting their first third down attempt with just 1:03 left in the game.

• The Jets failed to score a touchdown and couldn’t reach double digits in points despite the Ravens committing three of the game’s four turnovers and the Jets starting inside Baltimore’s 40 yard-line four different times.

Of course, Jets fans should have seen all of this coming very early, after Gang Green’s defense gave the Jets’ offense a golden opportunity on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage.

After Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco (20-38, 248 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) found himself crunched in a Shaun Ellis and Bryan Thomas sandwich, nose tackle Sione Pouha recovered the first of his two fumbles in the opening quarter.

So, what did the Jets do, starting their second possession from the Ravens’ 11-yard line?

They gained a whole six yards on three plays and settled for a 3-0 lead 4:06 into the game on a 23-yard field goal from kicker Nick Folk.

Holding the ball for 9:11, Baltimore then drove 48 yards on 14 plays, but came away with nothing when running back Willis McGahee was stripped and Pouha came away with his second fumble recovery.

Following that, each team traded punts until the Jets got a 32-yard punt return from Jim Leonhard to the Ravens’ 37 yard-line. Once again though, the Jets stalled after getting as far as the Baltimore 10-yard line, and a Folk field goal from 28 yards out gave the Jets a 6-0 lead with 8:16 left in the half.

The Ravens then drove to the Jets’ 20-yard line, but Flacco was intercepted near the Jets’ end zone along the left sideline by newcomer Antonio Cromartie, who recorded his first pick as a Jet and returned the ball 66 yards to the Baltimore 31 yard-line.

Two plays later though, running back Shonn Greene fumbled to spoil another great chance for the Jets.

Baltimore took advantage of that mistake, going 76 yards on 11 plays in 4:09, to take its first lead, 7-6, on a one-yard touchdown plunge by McGahee with six seconds left in the opening half.

The drive was kept alive twice by Jet mistakes. First, Braylon Edwards ran into kicker Billy Cundiff on a field goal attempt, and three plays later, rookie cornerback Kyle Wilson was flagged for pass interference in the end zone on a 3rd-and-10 play from the Jets’ 22 yard-line.

Again, the teams traded punts at the start of the third quarter before the Ravens embarked on the game’s longest drive, travelling 85 yards in 9 plays from their own 8-yard line in 4:30, extending their lead to 10-6 on a Cundiff 25-yard field goal with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Two key plays on the drive were completions of 38 and 27 yards, each from Flacco to wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who had a great debut as a Raven after spending seven seasons in Arizona.

Though the Jets’ defense performed well overall (limiting the Ravens to 282 total yards), it was torched by Boldin, who had game highs of seven receptions and 110 yards.

The way the Jets’ offense and the Ravens’ defense were playing, the slim margin the Ravens held with still over 22 minutes left in the game, proved to be insurmountable for New York.

After Leonard again set the Jets up nicely with a 22-yard punt return to the Ravens’ 35-yard line, the New York could only muster five yards on three plays, settling for a 48-yard field goal by Folk that hooked inside the right upright with 11:59 left in the game, to trim the Ravens’ lead to what eventually became the final score of 10-9.

It’s of course just one game, and as we saw last season, a team can see a lot of peaks and valleys between its season opener and Week 17. Remember, last year’s Jets began 3-0 and then went 4-7, before winning four straight to position themselves two quarters from the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

However, when you do as much talking and boasting as Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan does, you don’t want to be humbled during your first ever game in your new stadium with an undisciplined, mistake-filled performance that was far from making Jets’ fans believe in Ryan’s earlier words that the Jets “expect to win every week.”

In that regard, the Jets will get a quick chance to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd and possibly win their first game at the New Meadowlands, when they host New England (1-0), on Sunday, at 4:15pm EST.

However, for openers, the Jets were supposed to back up all of their talk from HBO’s “Hard Knocks series. Instead, Jet Nation saw a version of different HBO show, as in the Ravens’ curbing the Jets’ enthusiasm.