The Jets won this game with smoke and mirrors yesterday.  The offense just did enough to help the Jets win this game.  Mark Sanchez completed 17 of 30 passes for 171 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 10 yards (2.5 ypc) with a TD.  The Titans’ D bottled up Thomas Jones (14 carries, 20 yards) and Leon Washington (12 carries, 46 yards) forcing the Jets to throw the ball more often than they wanted to.  Lucky for the Jets that Jerricho Cotchery stepped up in this game catching 8 passes for 108 yards (13.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Jets finished up this game with 229 total yards on offense (83 rushing, 146 passing) in this game.

The defense was solid again for the Jets in this game.  LBs Bart Scott (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and David Harris (5 tackles, sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception) led the way for the Jets in this game.  The Titans finished up with 286 total yards of offense (127 rushing, 159 passing) in this game.  The Jets also recovered two fumbles on special teams setting up short fields for the offense.  The Jets are now 3-0 on the season and they are sitting atop of the AFC East Division.

This is a game with two teams heading in opposite directions as the Titans are 0-2 while the Jets are 2-0 on the year.  This is a prime game for a upset as the Jets could be in for a let down game after beating the Patriots last week.  The Jets’ defense has been outstanding so far this season but they have not seen a running back like Charles Johnson yet.  He has 352 yards from scrimmage this season on only 41 touches (8.6 avg) and he has scored 3 TDs.  He has freakish speed so the Jets will have to contain him on the edges.  If Johnson gets the running game going then Kerry Collins will attempt to attack the Jets downfield with play action passes to WRs Justin Gage, Nate Washington and Kenny Britt.

The Jets have been using the running game to set up the pass but that will be hard this week.  Thomas Jones (161 yards rushing) and Leon Washington (118 yards rushing) have been solid this season but they have not faced a front seven like the Titans have.  The Titans are only allowing 49.5 yards rushing per game and 1.9 yards per carry.  But, the Titans have allowed a stunning 339.0 yards passing per game this season.  If Mark Sanchez gets the time to throw the ball (and that is likely) then he will be looking for WRs Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey deep.  He also likes throwing short passes to Dustin Keller and then watching him run.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 21, JETS 20

The Jets talked the talk all week and then they backed it up on Sunday against the Patriots.  Mark Sanchez was o.k. managing this game as he completed 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  Leon Washington was busy as usual leading the Jets with 58 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.1 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 18 yards (9.0 avg) and he returned 4 kickoffs for 127 yards (31.8 avg).  Thomas Jones pitched in with 54 yards on 14 carries (3.9 ypc) in this game.  Jerricho Cotchery led the way in the passing game for the Jets with 4 catches for 87 yards (21.8 avg).  The Jets finished up with 254 total yards in this game (117 rushing, 137 passing).

The Defense was outstanding again for the Jets keeping the Patriots out of the end zone.  S Kerry Rhodes (8 tackles) and CB Darrelle Revis (5 tackles, interception) led the way on the D for the Jets in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 299 total yards in this game (83 rushing, 216 passing).  The Jets are now 2-0 and sitting atop the AFC East by themselves.

The New York Jets are hosting the New England Patriots Sunday at the Meadowlands and are looking to send a message to the Patriots.  Jets head coach Rex Ryan is “not intimidated” by the Patriots and is “not going to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.”  Jets players have been chirping all week as well, saying they are going to take down the three-time Super Bowl champs.

The Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez did not look like a rookie in their week one win over the Houston Texans.  I wouldn’t expect to see the same type of game from Sanchez, but he has enough weapons to help carry the load for him.  Most notably is running back Thomas Jones and he should be pretty effective, especially since the Patriots will most likely be without one of their top defenders as linebacker Jerod Mayo has a leg injury.

Tom Brady’s knee looked fine in their close win over the Buffallo Bills last week.  He proved he still has the same accuracy and ability to deliver in the clutch, as he led the Patriots to a come from behind victory.  He did look a little rusty however, and the Jets defense should look to put a lot of pressure on the star quarterback.

I think the Jets have enough to win this game, but it will be very difficult to do with a rookie quarterback playing in his second career game against the most dominant team of this era.  The Patriots are looking to shut the Jets up and I think they will edge out a close victory, but the Jets could very well back their words up and win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Patriots 31, Jets 28

Leon Washington is the busiest player on the Jets on GameDay.  He carried the ball 15 times for 60 yards (4.0 ypc) and he caught 4 passes for 24 yards (6.0 avg) against the Texans on Sunday.  Washington also returned a kickoff for 20 yards and two punts for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  The Jets will be creative in getting the ball in Washington’s hands as he is the most electric player on the Jets’ roster.