24-year old CB Darrelle Revis has turned himself into one of the best lockdown corners in the NFL.  Revis has played in 15 games for the Jets this season and he has made 54 tackles, defensed 31 passes and he has 6 interceptions (121 return yards) including one that he returned for a TD.  Look for Revis to be a fixture in the Pro Bowl.  25-year old center Nick Mangold and 33-year old guard Alan Faneca both started all 15 games for the Jets so far this season.  They are the main reason that the Jets are so effective at running the ball.

The Jets got a huge win yesterday but the game didn’t start going in their favor until the Colts yanked their starters.  Still, the Jets will take it any way they can get it.  Mark Sanchez managed the game by completing 12 of 19 passes for 106 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Thomas Jones led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 23 carries for 105 yards (4.6 ypc) with a TD run.  Shonn Greene also was very effective running the ball as he finished with 95 yards on 16 carries (5.9 ypc).  Jerricho Cotchery led the way in the passing game for the Jets with 4 grabs for 45 yards (11.3 avg) in this game.  The Jets finished up with 293 total yards on offense (202 rushing, 91 passing) in this game. 

David Harris led the way for the Jets on defense in this game with 9 tackles.  CB Dwight Lowery (INT) and DE Marques Douglas (1-yard fumble recovery for a TD) had huge plays in this game for the Jets.  The Colts finished up with only 277 total yards (64 rushing, 213 passing) in this game.  The Jets also got a huge play on special teams with Brad Smith returning a kickoff 106 yards for a TD in the third quarter.  The Jets are now 8-7 and they control their own destiny for the playoffs needing only a win over the Bengals next week.

The New York Jets (7-7) played very sloppy football against the Atlanta Falcons (7-7) and their playoff hopes are pretty much gone, now 2 games back of the Patriots.  Mark Sanchez played terrible, throwing for 226 yards, 3 interceptions and only 1 touchdown on 18/32 passes.  The kicking game was pathetic, with kicker Jay Feely missing a field goal and having another blocked, both under 40-yard attempts.  They also botched a snap on another attempt, totaling 9 points that the Jets should have had from the kicking game that they failed on.  The Jets running game did get 99 rushing yards, but it was on 33 carries for only a 3-yard average.  A very disappointing day for the Jets’ offense.

The Jets defense played well for most of the game, but they couldn’t stop the Falcons when they needed to most.  With 1:38 to go, Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan found Tony Gonzalez on a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap off a 73-yard drive.  The Jets held them to 238 total yards, but the Falcons’ final drive was enough to win.  The Jets were then booed and pummeled with snowballs, as 29 fans were ejected for throwing snowballs on the field.  This was a very tough loss to swallow for everyone involved with the Jets and their fans.

The New York Jets (7-6) are hosting the Atlanta Falcons this week and they are hoping that Matt Ryan and Michael Turner will still be out.  Ryan and Turner are the Falcons biggest offensive weapons but are both listed as questionable.  If they can’t go the Jets will have a much easier time slowing down the Falcons offense.  Chris Redman will be the starter if Ryan can’t go and Jason Snelling will be the running back if Turner can’t go.  Both are downgrades, but the Jets can’t relax.  Redman has made some very nice plays the last two weeks as a starter.  He does make a lot of mistakes though, so the Jets need to take advantage of them and try and get some turnovers.  Snelling shouldn’t be much of a problem as the Jets run-defense has been great lately.

Mark Sanchez is back after missing last week’s game with a knee injury.  The Jets should limit Sanchez and just let Thomas Jones do most of the work for the offense.  Jones has been running the ball great most of the season and had 2 touchdowns last game.  The Falcons give up 118 rushing yards per contest, so Jones should be able to find a lot of success.  Sanchez just needs to take care of the ball and let his running game do its thing.  This game could be much different if Ryan and Turner play, but I like the Jets in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Jets 27, Atlanta Falcons 17

The Jets had it easy today against the Bucs who are a awful excuse for a NFL team.  Kellen Clemens got the start at QB and he completed 12 of 23 passes for 111 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Brad Smith completed his only pass attempt on a fake punt and it went for 27 yards and a first down.  Smith also carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc) out of the Wildcat Formation and he also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  Thomas Jones led the way on the ground for the Jets today with 99 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Rookie RB Shonn Greene pitched in with 41 yards rushing on 6 carries (6.8 ypc) but he also lost a fumble.  Danny Woodhead pitched in with 17 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 35 yards (11.7 avg).  Braylon Edwards pitched in with 37 yards receiving on 3 grabs today (12.3 avg).  The Jets finished up with 310 total yards on offense (175 rushing, 135 passing) in this game today.

The defense was downright nasty for the Jets today as they shut the Bucs down!  LBs Calvin Pace (7 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed) and Bart Scott (7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) led the way for the Jets on D today.  CB Darrelle Revis had another monster game for the Jets with 3 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  LB David Harris and safety Kerry Rhodes each picked off a pass to pitch in on D for the Jets.  The Buccaneers finished up with only 124 total yards (43 rushing, 81 passing) on offense in this game.  The Jets are now right back in the playoff hunt with a 7-6 record.

Hopefully the Jets watched the Steelers/Browns game last night that way they know not to overlook any team including the 1-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Jets will be starting Kellen Clemens at QB this week with Mark Sanchez out because of injury.  The Jets will likely only need Clemens as a game manager because they are going to come out running the football with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene against a Bucs’ D that is allowing 160.1 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry.  A lot of the passing game will likely come of play action with Clemens taking shots deep to Jerricho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards. 

The Buccaneers will probably come out of the locker room trying to establish the running game with Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward.  Neither of those players should strike fear in the heart of Jets’ defenders.  If the Jets are successful in stopping the run then QB Josh Freeman will be a sitting duck all day long.  CB Darrelle Revis will likely be shadowing Antonio Bryant forcing the Bucs to use other receivers.

PREDICTION:  JETS 20, BUCCANEERS 10

The Jets’ season looked over three weeks ago when they were sitting at 4-6 on the year.  But, wins over the Bills and Panthers by a combined score of 36-19 have revived the playoff hopes of the Jets.  They are only 1 game behind the Jaguars for a Wild Card spot right now and they are also only 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.  It won’t be easy for the Jets to make the playoffs as they will have to win at least 3 of the last four games to have a good chance.  The good news there is that almost all of the rest of the games appear to be winnable.  The Bucs this weekend and the Falcons next week in New Jersey appear to be good opportunities for the Jets to make up some ground.  They then play the Colts in Indy and the Bengals at home.  Both of them teams could have their playoffs seeds set and they could be resting players.  The Jets need to be focused the rest of the year because the division and the wild card are very much in play if they finish the season strong.

The Jets have lost 35-year old linebacker Larry Izzo for the year due to a neck injury.  Izzo played in 12 games for the Jets this year and he made 7 tackles and he forced 2 fumbles.  Izzo has now played in 200 games in his NFL career and he has 179 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  The Jets will miss Izzo who has been a special teams ace for them for a long, long time.  Hopefully this injury won’t end his career.

The Jets are hoping that Mark Sanchez (sprained PCL right knee) is ready to return to action against the Bucs this weekend.  Sanchez has played in 12 games (all starts) this season for the Jets and he has completed 158 of 297 passes (53.2%) for 2,049 yards with 11 TD passes and 17 INTs (63.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 97 yards (3.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs this year.  The Jets need Sanchez to be ready to play because the team doesn’t have a lot of faith in back-up Kellen Clemens’ ability to lead the offense.  Clemens has completed 1 of 3 passes for 14 yards so far this season.  In his career with the Jets he has played in 20 games in which he has completed 134 of 259 passes (51.7%) for 1,569 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (59.2 QB Rating). 

UPDATE:  Kellen Clemens will start this weekend at QB as the Jets are holding out Mark Sanchez. 

The Jets won this game the old fashioned way last night by playing defense and running the ball.  QB Mark Sanchez was a game manager for the Jets last night completing 7 of 15 passes for 104 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards last night but he hurt himself on the play by pretty much refusing to slide and he didn’t return to the game.  Kellen Clemens finished up the game by completing 1 of 2 passes for 14 yards and he also carried the ball 4 times for 3 yards (0.8 ypc).  Thomas Jones did most of the hard work last night carrying the ball 23 times for 109 yards (4.7 ypc).  Shonn Greene also had a solid night for the Jets pitching in with 59 yards rushing on 11 carries (5.4 ypc).  WRs Jerricho Cotchery (4 rec, 68 yards) and Braylon Edwards (3 rec, 45 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Jets last night.  The Jets finished up with 331 total yards on offense (249 rushing, 82 passing) last night as they hogged the ball for 35:10!

LBs David Harris (11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits) and Bart Scott (9 tackles and 1 QB hit) led a impressive effort by the Jets’ D last night.  CB Darrelle Revis was also over the field as usual making 4 tackles, defensing 5 passes and he picked off a pass.  The Bills finished up with only 194 total yards on offense (123 rushing, 71 passing) in the game last night.  The Jets have got themselves back into the playoff hunt as they are now 6-6 on the year.