The Jets played great in the first half leading the game 17-13.  But two things happened in the second half that doomed the Jets.  1.) Shonn Greene got hurt and 2.) Peyton Manning showed why he is the best QB in the world.  Mark Sanchez had a very solid game for the Jets as he completed 17 of 30 passes for 257 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Brad Smith caught two passes for 7 yards but it was his 45-yard completion on his only pass attempt that was his most electric play of the game.  Thomas Jones led the Jets in rushing in this game with 42 yards on 16 carries (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 28 yards (14.0 avg).  Shonn Greene carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards (4.1 ypc) with a TD run before getting injured.  Jerricho Cotchery (5 rec, 102 yards), Braylon Edwards (2 rec, 100 yards, TD) and Dustin Keller (6 rec, 63 yards, TD) all had solid games for the Jets yesterday.  The Jets finished up with 388 total yards on offense (86 rushing, 302 passing) in this game.

Linebacker David Harris was a beast for the Jets yesterday as he finished up with 11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  Safety Kerry Rhodes pitched in with 8 tackles.  But the overall play of the defense was disappointing for the Jets yesterday as the Colts ran up 461 total yards on offense (101 rushing, 360 passing) in this game.  The Jets have nothing to feel bad about as they went farther than anyone that wasn’t in their locker-room thought they could.

The Jets beat the Colts just a few weeks ago after they yanked Peyton Manning.  But, the Jets were real close until Manning was yanked so I think this will be an outstanding football game.  The Jets won’t change a thing on offense in this game as they will give the ball to Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones as many times as possible.  The Jets don’t waver from that philosophy either as they were running the ball even after they fell behind against the Chargers and it paid off.  The Jets’ offensive line is a big, physical and nasty bunch who will likely push around the front seven of the Colts.  The Colts will likely bring up the safeties against the run and soon as they do look for some play action passes to TE Dustin Keller who is having an outstanding post-season.  The Jets’ O-Line must do a good job of keeping Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis out of the backfield because Mark Sanchez tends to make “rookie” mistakes when the pass rush is in his face.

Defensively the Jets are going to be all about stopping Peyton Manning and the passing game.  That is because they are confident that ILBs Bart Scott and David Harris will be able to stop Joseph Addai and the Colts’ running game.  The Jets will sick CB Darrelle Revis on Reggie Wayne but Peyton Manning will throw to his buddy anyway so he better be ready to be challenged.  The biggest key for the Jets are going to be the safeties (Kerry Rhodes and Jim Leonhard) who are going to have to deal with Dallas Clark.  Clark is a different animal than Antonio Gates as he is more like an extra WR lining up next to the OT.  Peyton Manning will also likely come after Lito Sheppard with Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie so he better be ready for action.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 21, JETS 17

Rookie running back Shonn Greene has been the Jets’ main ballcarrier in the playoffs and he is looking awesome.  He has carried the ball 44 times for 263 yards (6.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  Thomas Jones has carried the ball 29 times for 75 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  It will be interesting to see how the Jets handle the RB situation in 2010. 

Sure, Mark Sanchez is not putting up eye-popping numbers in the playoffs but he hasn’t needed to thanks to the Jets’ running game and defense.  He has completed 24 of 38 passes (63.2%) for 282 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (92.2 QB Rating).  The interesting thing about this week’s game is that it pits the Colts against them just like way back in Super Bowl III.  Joe Namath was a youngster back then and he guaranteed a win over the heavily favored Colts and then he made it reality.  I’m sure that Rex Ryan (even as cocky as he is) would kick Sanchez in the butt if he made any guarantees about this weekend.

The Jets must have had a voodoo doll shaped like Nate Kaeding because he missed three chip shot field goals in this game for the Chargers.  But, make no mistake the Jets deserved to win this game as they played better than the Chargers.  Mark Sanchez was still in his game manager mode as he completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Fellow rookie Shonn Greene had another monster game with 23 carries for 128 yards (5.6 ypc) with a TD run.  Thomas Jones pitched in with 41 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.9 ypc) yesterday.  Braylon Edwards (2 rec, 41 yards), Jerricho Cotchery (3 rec, 25 yards) and Dustin Keller (3 rec, 19 yards, TD) all pitched in on the passing game for the Jets.  The Jets finished up with 262 total yards on offense (169 rushing, 93 passing) in this game as they held onto the ball for 31:31.

The defense was solid again yesterday for the Jets.  David Harris led the way for the Jets with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed for the Jets yesterday.  Safety Kerry Rhodes was also busy with 8 tackles, 1 sack and 1 QB hit in this game.  Safety Jim Leonhard had a great game for the Jets yesterday with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The INT was deep in Chargers’ territory setting up a score for the Jets.  CB Darrelle Revis pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The INT was a incredible play by Revis deep in Jets’ territory.  The Chargers finished up with 344 total yards on offense (61 rushing, 283 passing) in this game.  The Jets will take on the Colts in Indianapolis for the rite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

The Jets are going to come into this game with a lot of confidence after winning on the road last weekend in Cincinnati.  For the fuzzy feeling to continue the Jets are going to have to run the ball and play keepaway from the Chargers’ offense.  The Jets are thinking that C Nick Mangold and guards Alan Faneca and Brandon Moore will win battles against NT Ian Scott and ILBs Stephen Cooper and Kevin Burnett.  If that is the case then Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones could be in for big games on Sunday.  But, if the Jets are forced to pass the ball against the Chargers, Sanchez better be careful challenging CB Antonio Cromartie who is a playmaker.  More than likely, TE Dustin Keller will be targeted quite a bit just like last weekend against the Bengals challeging the Chargers’ safeties.

Defensively the Jets will likely have some issues defending the Chargers who have a much better offense than the Bengals do.  While LaDainian Tomlinson is past his prime the Jets’ outside linebackers could have trouble containing Darren Sproles because of his speed on the outside.  The Chargers have the biggest (size wise) WR corps in the league and that could cause huge problems for the Jets this weekend.  Darrelle Revis will likley lock up with Vincent Jackson but Malcolm Floyd could be a pain in the Jets’ side as he towers over Lito Sheppard.  The Jets’ corners will likely be on their own against the Chargers’ WR because they will have their hands full dealing with TE Antonio Gates.  The bottom line for the Jets is that they will have to put pressure on Philip Rivers on he is going to burn them in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 27, JETS 20

Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan certainly doesn’t lack in confidence as he said before last week’s game that the Jets should be favored in every game they play the rest of the year.  Well, that hasn’t happened as they were underdogs against the Bengals last week and they are a 8 point underdog this weekend against the Chargers in San Diego.  One thing I will say about Ryan is that the Jets might be the most physical team left in the playoffs.  The Jets run the ball against everyone and they have a great defense proving that Rex learned well from his dad, Buddy Ryan.  It seems to me that Ryan is expecting to win the Super Bowl after saying his team should be the favorite in every game the rest of the season.  That is absolutely the right frame of mind to be in right now.

The Jets pretty much played a perfect ball game today in finishing off the Bengals on their turf.  Mark Sanchez was outstanding today as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He had a amazing 139.4 QB Rating in his first NFL playoff game.  The Bengals were cheating up on D to deal with the running game and they still couldn’t stop rookie RB Shonn Greene who rushed for 135 yards on 21 carries (6.4 ypc) with a TD run.  Thomas Jones had a much smaller role than usual for the Jets today carrying the ball 15 times for only 34 yards (2.3 ypc) with a TD run.  TE Dustin Keller was the guy making the big plays in the passing game for the Jets today as he caught 3 passes for 99 yards (33.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Jerricho Cotchery also kept busy with 6 grabs for 67 yards (11.2 avg) in this game.  The Jets finished up with 353 total yards on offense (171 rushing, 182 passing) in this game as they had control of the ball for 33:02.

The defense was solid against the pass but they had issues stopping Cedric Benson who carried the ball 21 times for 169 yards (8.0 ypc) with a TD run against them.  But, the Jets built a lead in the game forcing the Bengals to throw the ball and that was a big reason for the win as Carson Palmer had little luck against them.  Linebacker Bryan Thomas led the way for the Jets on D with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  DE Shaun Ellis also had a huge game with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and he recovered a fumble deep in Jets’ territory on the Bengals’ first drive of the game.  CB Darrelle Revis shut down Chad Ocho Cinco who caught only 2 passes for 28 yards (14.0 avg) today for the Bengals.  Revis finished up with 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT.  The Bengals finished up with 281 total yards on offense (171 rushing, 110 passing) in this game. 

Kicker Jay Feely was a unsung hero in this game as regular punter Steve Weatherford couldn’t go today.  Feely not only scored 6 points for the Jets today but he also punted the ball 7 times for 220 yards (31.4 avg) downing three punts inside the Bengals’ 20-yard line.  The Jets will play either the Colts in Indy (if the Patriots win tomorrow) or the Chargers in San Diego (if the Ravens win tomorrow) next week.

The Jets are in for a fight tomorrow in the Jungle.  The Bengals won’t be the same team the Jets punished 37-0 last week as they will be playing the full team on the road this week.  This is the first time in three weeks that the Jets will be playing a team that isn’t resting players.  The Jets will have to try to control this game on the ground offensively just like they did last weekend.  The Jets will turn both Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene loose as they both helped the Jets rush for a league leading 172.3 yards per game this year.  The Jets will likely have a harder time this week as the Bengals will have all of their defensive players back this weekend and they only allowed 98.3 yards rushing and 3.9 yards per carry this year.  The Jets will also likely use WR Brad Smith a lot in the Wild Cat formation as it worked really well last weekend.  The Jets need to be effective running the ball because they don’t want to have to win the game throwing it with Mark Sanchez taking on CBs Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall who are both outstanding players. 

Defensively the Jets will have to deal with Cedric Benson who should be fresh and ready to go for the Bengals after sitting out last week’s game.  He has done well against physical defenses this season so the Jets will have to make sure they wrap him up.  If the Jets can stop the Bengals running game they should be in good shape as they will likely keep Darrelle Revis on Chad Ocho Cinco the whole game making Carson Palmer try to beat them by throwing to someone else. 

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 20, JETS 17

The Jets just wanted their QBs to manage the game and that’s exactly what they did in 2009.  23-year old rookie QB Mark Sanchez started 15 games for the Jets this season and he completed 196 of 364 passes (53.8%) for 2,444 yards with 12 TD passes and 20 INTs (63.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 36 times for 106 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs this year.  The Jets hope that Sanchez has learned from his mistakes this year and hopes he won’t repeat them in 2010.

26-year old Kellen Clemens started 1 game for the Jets this season and he completed 13 of 26 passes (50%) for 125 yards without a TD or a INT (63.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 1 yard (0.1 ypc) this year.  Clemens has now played in 24 games in his career with the Jets and he has completed 146 of 282 passes (51.8%) for 1,680 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  Clemens has also carried the ball 44 times for 119 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  The Jets might want to upgrade the back-up position for 2010 as they seem to have little faith in Clemens rushing Sanchez back to the field after he was injured.