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.

The Jets dominated this game yesterday and it was fun to watch.  Mark Sanchez looked like a seasoned veteran completing 18 of 31 passes for 272 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  The pickoff was returned 14 yards by John Busing of the Texans who then lost a fumble that was picked up and returned 48 yards to paydirt by the Texans.  That pass was one of the only mistakes Sanchez made in this game as he was outstanding.  Run support was granted by Thomas Jones who carried the ball 20 times for 107 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Leon Washington was also busy carrying the ball 15 times for 60 yards (4.0 ypc) and he grabbed 4 passes for 24 yards.  TE Dustin Keller led the Jets with 94 yards receiving on 4 catches (23.5 avg).  Jerricho Cotchery was Sanchez’ favorite target in this game as he caught 6 passes for 90 yards (15.0 avg).  Chansi Stuckey also had a solid game with 4 catches for 64 yards with a TD.  The Jets had possession of the football for 38:46 of this game while rolling up 462 total yards on offense (190 rushing, 272 passing). 

Linebacker David Harris was everywhere in this game as he led the Jets with 11 tackles and a sack.  CB Lito Sheppard was also solid with 3 tackles and a interception.  The Texans finished up with 183 total yards of offense in this game (38 rushing, 145 passing).  This was a outstanding all-around effort for the Jets.

This should be a very fascinating football game in Houston tomorrow.  The Jets will try to win with a running game and defense while the Texans will just try to outscore the Jets.  Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan will likely try to protect Mark Sanchez in his first NFL start.  That means the offense will lean on Thomas Jones, Leon Washington and Shonn Greene against a Texans’ D that allowed 122.6 yards rushing per game.  If the Jets are effective running the football then look for a few play action passes deep to Jerricho Cotchery.

The Texans will want to keep the offense balanced against a Jets’ D that will likely be blitzing when they get off the team bus.  With Matt Schaub being gimpy the Texans might prefer to keep the passing game short to Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter and TE Owen Daniels.  But, Steve Slaton will also get the ball a lot on the ground and if he wins his battles against LBs David Harris and Bart Scott the Jets will be in trouble.

PREDICTION:  HOUSTON TEXANS 23, NEW YORK JETS 20

The Jets really pushed the Eagles around physically in this football game.  Mark Sanchez started this game and he was sharp completing all 5 of his pass attempts for 67 yards with 1 TD pass.  Kellen Clemens didn’t look good in his brief appearance as he was 0 for 2 passing with a interception.  Erik Ainge finished the game strong to lead the Jets to victory.  He completed 10 of 17 passes for 160 yards with 2 TD passes.  On the negative side of things, Ainge did lose two fumbles.  RB Danny Woodhead was outstanding in this game for the Jets as he carried the ball 18 times for 158 yards (8.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught a pass for 10 yards.  David Clowney had an outstanding game as he caught 2 passes for 108 yards (54.0 avg) with a TD.  The Jets finished up with an amazing 398 total yards on offense (191 rushing, 207 passing) despite only having possession of the ball for 23:04.

The Jets were all over the QBs of the Eagles as they had 7 sacks!  CB James Ihedigbo (8 tackles) and LB Kenwin Cummings (7 tackles, sack) led the way for the Jets’ D in this game.  The Jets held the Eagles to only 217 total yards on offense (144 rushing, 73 passing) in a solid effort.  The Jets have finished the pre-season with a 2-2 record.

The Jets have signed 29-year old TE Ben Hartsock to a 1-year deal.  Hartsock played in 11 games for the Falcons last season and he caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  He has now played in 56 games in his 5 year NFL career and he has caught 27 passes for 273 yards (10.1 avg).  Hartsock is a good blocker in the running game so he will likely earn a lot of playing time with the Jets this season.