The Jets did what they had to today to make the playoffs and have earned a re-match with the New England Patriots.  Chad Pennington had a decent game throwing the ball as he completed 22 of 30 passes for 157 yards and a TD.  Leon Washington and Cedric Houston split the carries today.  Washington carried the ball 15 times for 53 yards (3.5 ypc) and a TD.  Cedric Houston carried the ball 16 times for 44 yards (2.8 ypc).  Jerricho Cotchery led the way in the passing game with 7 catches for 53 yards.  Justin McCareins caught 5 passes for 27 yards.  TE Chris Baker had a solid game with 2 grabs for 19 yards and a TD.

The defense played great as a unit for the Jets.  The Raiders carried the ball 22 times for 88 yards (4.0 ypc).  The Raiders completed 15 of 26 passes for 121 net yards passing.

The New York Jets can clinch a playoff berth with:  1) a win or tie  2) Cincinnati and Jacksonville both lose or tie  3) Cincinnati loss or tie and a Tennessee win  4) Denver and Jacksonville lose.

Basically, all the Jets have to do to make the playoffs is beat the 2-13 Oakland Raiders in Giants stadium on Sunday.

The Jets have now set themselves up to make the playoffs if they can beat the Raiders next weekend.  The Jets won a hard-fought game in the rain at Miami last night.  Chad Pennington had a solid game as he completed 14 of 29 passes for 237 yards and a TD.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5 ypc).  Kevan Barlow had a rough game as he carried the ball 18 times for 36 yards (2.0 ypc).  Little Leon Washington was the star of the show for the offense.  He carried the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc), but he caught 4 passes for 108 yards (27.0 avg)!  Jerricho Cotchery caught 4 passes for 50 yards including a big TD catch.

Erik Coleman and Jonathan Vilma each had 9 tackles in a good effort by the Jets’ defense.  The Jets had trouble stopping the run as the Dolphins ran the ball 24 times for 124 yards (5.2 ypc).  The defense was much better against the pass as the Dolphins completed 18 of 31 passes for 129 net yards passing.

The Jets improved to an amazing 9-6 on the season with this victory and have set themselves up for a return to the playoffs.

The Jets have revived their playoff hopes after winning 3 of their last 4 football games including a 26-13 win last week over the Vikings in Minnesota.  The Dolphins have won 5 of their last 7 games, but they were shutout 21-0 in Buffalo last week.

Look for the Jets to take it to the air again this week against the Dolphins.  The Dolphins allow 178.3 net yards passing per game, but they have allowed 19 TD passes and only have intercepted 8 passes this season.  As long as the Jets keep Jason Taylor (12.5 sacks) away from Pennington, he should have a good day throwing the football.  Lauveranues Coles (87 rec, 1,065 yards) and Jerricho Cotchery (71 rec, 858 yards) could have huge games.  Watch out for TE Chris Baker too, because the Dolphins have trouble covering TEs.

The Dolphins should come out running the football with Sammy Morris.  Morris has played well in Ronnie Brown’s place and should have a good game as the Jets allow 133.7 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so far this season.  Look for the Dolphins to still try to throw the ball downfield too against a Jets pass defense that is allowing 212.3 net yards passing so far this season.  Joey Harrington is coming off his worst game of the season last week, but he threw for 266 yards in the first meeting between the Fins and the Jets.  Marty Booker hurt himself last week, but he has emerged as Harrington’s favorite target so they need him to play.

The Jets won the first meeting in New Jersey 20-17 over the Dolphins.  Look for a similar type score, but it’s too hard for me to pick a winner.

The Jets looked great yesterday in a game they really needed.  Chad Pennington really stepped up as he hit 29 of 39 passes for 339 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Cedric Houston had a rough game as he carried the ball 21 times for 53 yards (2.5 ypc) and a TD.  Laveranues Coles had a great game with 12 receptions for 144 yards and a TD.  Justin McCareins only caught 2 passes but they covered 70 yards.  Jerricho Cotchery added 6 receptions for 56 yards.  TE Chris Baker caught 4 passes for 33 yards.

Victor Hobson led a decent effort by the defense with 8 tackles and a sack.  The Jets held the Vikings to 62 yards rushing (4.1 ypc).  The Vikings completed 24 of 40 passes for 245 net yards passing.

The Jets kept their playoff hopes alive with a big win yesterday.  The Jets improved to 8-6 on the season with this win.

The New York Jets are coming off a woeful game in which the Bills thrashed them 31-13 at the Meadowlands.  The Vikings have won 2 of their last three games, including last week’s 30-20 win at Detroit.

The Jets would be smart not to even attempt to run the ball against the Vikings who are allowing 54.1 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry.  Look for the Jets to air it out.  Chad Pennington has alot of weapons to attack the porous Vikings secondary with.  The Vikings are allowing 228.8 net yards passing per game, so the Jets should have some success.  Laveranues Coles (75 rec, 921 yards) and Jerricho Cotchery (65 rec, 802 yards) will get their yards on Sunday.  Look for Pennington to also look for his TE Chris Baker and Justin McCareins who will be single covered all game.

The Vikings will prefer to keep the ball on the ground with Chester Taylor (1,098 yards rushing) if he can go as he missed last week with injured ribs.  If he can’t go, Artose Pinner will get the start and he played very well last week.  The Jets are giving up 139.2 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  The Vikings will need to throw the ball a little bit to keep the Jets defense honest.  The Vikings hope that Brad Johnson gets the ball to his teammates instead of the opponents, as he already has thrown 15 interceptions so far this season.

This game is a toss-up, but I’m leaning towards the Vikings because they’re at home.

The Jets safeties are a big reason why they are 7-5 on the season.  Kerry Rhodes and Erik Coleman have been playing really well this season.  Kerry Rhodes is a big-time playmaker that should be playing in the Pro Bowl.  Rhodes has 88 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, 8 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles.  Erik Coleman has been much closer to the line as a strong safety and has really helped out on run support as he has 83 tackles, an interception and he’s defended 3 passes.

 

The Jets kept turning the football over and couldn’t stop the Bills from running all over them.  Chad Pennington didn’t play too well as he completed 22 of 35 passes for 182 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc).  Leon Washington had a good game as he carried the ball 7 times for 55 yards (7.9 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 28 yards.  Cedric Houston had a rough game as he carried the ball 18 times for 50 yards (2.8 ypc).  Laveranues Coles caught 4 passes for 67 yards and a TD.  Jerricho Cotchery caught the ball 5 times for 37 yards.

Can’t blame Victor Hobson for the bad defensive effort as he had 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Jets couldn’t stop the Bills running game as they carried the ball 34 times for 174 yards (5.1 ypc).  The Bills completed 10 of 15 passes for 144 net yards passing.

The Jets fell to 7-6 with this loss.

The Jets did a fantastic job of rebuilding their offensive line in the first round of the draft this year.  OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and C Nick Mangold have started all 12 games for the Jets.  The line has really done well blocking for the running game as the Jets are averaging 110.5 yards rushing per game despite not having good running backs.  They also have done a decent job pass blocking this season.