The Jets just couldn’t keep up with Bears in a very unexpected offensive shootout at Soldier Field yesterday.  Mark Sanchez looked good despite throwing the ball with a banged up shoulder as he completed 24 of 37 passes for 269 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 70 yards on 12 carries (5.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.  LaDainian Tomlinson had a rough game as he carried the ball 13 times for 28 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.  Brad Smith pitched in with 2 carries for 18 yards (9.0 ypc) in this game.  TE Dustin Keller (7 rec, 79 yards), WR Braylon Edwards (6 rec, 78 yards) and WR Santonio Holmes (4 rec, 69 yards, TD) led the way for the Jets in the passing game.  The Jets rushed for 124 yards on 30 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 38 passes for 269 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:51 in this game.

The Jets’ D got pushed around a little bit in this game.  LB David Harris (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and safety Brodney Pool (4 tackles and 3 passes defensed) led the way for the Jets’ on D yesterday.  CB Dwight Lowery only had 1 tackle and 1 pass defensed but he picked off a Jay Cutler pass and he returned it 20 yards for a TD.  The Bears finished up  with 120 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 25 passes for 202 yards.  The Jets are now 10-5 on the year but despite losing they sewed up a Wild Card spot in the AFC playoffs.

The Jets got back on the right track last weekend against the Steelers.  They are in good shape for a Wild Card in the AFC and they are still 2 games behind the Patriots in the AFC East.  The Bears dominated the Vikings last Monday Night and they have won six of their last 7 games.  The Bears have already won the NFC North but they are trying to get the #2 seed in the NFC so they need this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball: With QB Mark Sanchez hurting the Jets are going to likely turn to the running game.  LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene might have a hard time getting many yards against Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and the rest of the Bears’ imposing front seven.  The Bears are only giving up 89.8 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry so far this year.  The Jets’ O-Line is going to have to give Mark Sanchez time to throw the ball or the Jets will have little chance of mounting much of a passing game this Sunday.  The Bears have 19 interceptions and 32 sacks this year so Sanchez is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly while being careful and that’s not easy to do.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are likely going to also come out running the ball with Matt Forte.  The Jets’ front seven should be able to handle him as they are only allowing 92.7 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.  The Jets have given up 21 TD passes and they only have 7 interceptions so Jay Cutler is going to feel confident if he has time to throw the ball.  That is why the Jets will need to get back to blitzing Cutler and forcing him into making some mistakes.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 16, JETS 13

The Jets knew they would be in for a dogfight in this game but it started off with a bang when Brad Smith returned the opening kickoff of this game 97 yards for a TD.  Mark Sanchez was efficient and the most important thing was that he didn’t make any big mistakes.  Sanchez completed 19 of 29 passes for 170 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs in this game and he also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  LaDainian Tomlinson (11 carries for 49 yards) and Shonn Greene (12 carries for 40 yards) led the way on the ground in this game and they paid for every yard they got.  Braylon Edwards (8 rec, 100 yards) and Santonio Holmes (6 rec, 40 yards) led the way for the Jets in the passing game.  The Jets finished up with 106 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 29 passes for 170 yards.

The Jets’ D was in bend but don’t break mode in this game as they gave up a lot of yards but not many points!  CB Drew Coleman (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 sacks), CB Darrelle Revis (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and LB David Harris (7 tackles) led the way for the Jets on D in this game.  OLB Jason Taylor pitched in with 2 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss with one of them resulting in a safety when he tackled Mewelde Moore.  The Steelers finished up with 147 yards rushing on 25 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 44 passes for 231 yards.  The Jets are now 10-4 on the season after this win and they are still 2 games behind the Patriots in the AFC East.

The Jets are reeling right now as they have lost their last two games by a combined score of 55-9!  But they are still in good shape as far as the Wild Card is concerned.  The Steelers have the second best record in the AFC as they are one game behind the Patriots.  They are also only 1 game up on the Ravens in the AFC North so this is a very important game for both teams.  The Steelers have won four games in a row by turning up the D as they have only given up a combined 36 points during the winning streak.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  I don’t see the Jets changing this weekend.  That means I think they will tighten up the chinstraps and try to run the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson, Shonn Greene and Brad Smith against a Steelers’ D that is allowing only 60.1 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry.  This is a put up or shut up game for QB Mark Sanchez.  Troy Polamalu isn’t going to play tomorrow so there will be plays to be made down the field.  Santonio Holmes will without a doubt want to stick it to his old team and if Sanchez has time to throw the ball (the Steelers have 39 sacks) he will.  Braylon Edwards, Dustin Keller and Jerricho Cotchery give Sanchez one of the best set of skill players in the passing game in the league and it’s up to him to make some plays against a Steelers’ D that is giving up 232.9 yards passing per game.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers will also want to run the ball tomorrow with Rashard Mendenhall but that will be easier said than done as the Jets are only allowing 88.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  The Jets will need to get back to blitzing because when Ben Roethlisberger has a lot of time in the pocket, he makes plays down the field in the passing game.  The Jets need big games out of CBs Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie against WRs Hines Ward & Mike Wallace if they want to win this game.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 20, JETS 17

The Jets have lost starting right offensive tackle Damien Woody for the rest of the season due to right knee surgery.  Woody played in 13 games (all starts) for the Jets this year.  Woody has now played in 45 games (all starts) in his first three seasons with the Jets.  29-year old Wayne Hunter is going to replace Woody and the Jets better hope he plays better than he did last week when he gave up 3 sacks.  Hunter has played in 11 games (1 start) for the Jets so far this year and he has played in 41 games (2 starts) in his first three years with the Jets.  At least Hunter won’t be blocking Sanchez’ blind side so he will at least be able to see the pass rush coming at him.

The Jets’ offense sucked yesterday as they wasted an OUTSTANDING effort by the defense.  Mark Sanchez sucked yesterday as he completed 17 of 44 passes for 216 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc) yesterday.  Not only did Sanchez throw 2 pickoffs in this game but he also fumbled four times, losing only one of them.  LaDainian Tomlinson led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 49 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.6 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 5 yards (2.5 avg) in this game.  Shonn Greene only rushed for 17 yards on 8 carries (2.1 ypc) but he also caught 3 passes for 29 yards (9.7 avg).  WR Jerricho Cotchery (5 rec, 59 yards) and WR Santonio Holmes (2 rec, 57 yards) both dropped a few passes that were right on.  The Jets finished up with 87 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 44 passes for 193 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:48.

The defense was incredible for the Jets yesterday.  DT Sione Pouha (10 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery), LB Bart Scott (9 tackles and 1 QB hit), safety Brodney Pool (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) and OLB Jason Taylor (fumble recovery) led the way for the Jets’ D in this game.  The Dolphins finished up with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 5 of 19 passes for 30 yards.   The Jets are now 9-4 on the season and they are two games behind the Patriots in the AFC East.

The Jets are looking to rebound from the 45-3 beating they took at the hands of the Patriots last Monday Night.  They are still only 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East so this is a must win game for them.  The Dolphins have alternated wins and losses the last 8 weeks and they lost last weekend against the Browns.  The Fins are also a really good road team as the are 5-1 away from Miami this year.  The Jets beat the Dolphins 31-23 earlier this year in Miami.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out feeding the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene who will have to work hard to earn every yard against a Fins’ D that is allowing 99.6 yards rushing per game and only 3.7 yards per carry.  With the weather likely to be poor, I look for Mark Sanchez to keep the passing game short with TE Dustin Keller being targeted  more than he has been lately. 

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are also likely going to try to come out running the ball with Ricky Williams & Ronnie Brown.  The Jets are only giving up 87.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry so they should be  able to handle them.  With the problems the Jets have at safety the Dolphins might give them some trouble as they also like to throw short passes like the Patriots do.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, DOLPHINS 20

24-year old QB Mark Sanchez hasn’t played too well the last two weeks.  Sanchez has only completed 33 of 61 passes (54.1%) for 330 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs in his last two games.  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 16 yards (2.3 ypc) in his last two games.  Sanchez has now played in 12 games for the Jets so far this year and he has completed 218 of 397 passes (54.9%) for 2,636 yards with 16 TD passes and 11 INTs (77.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 25 times for 70 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year.  It is starting to become apparent that Sanchez just isn’t that great of a QB.  The Jets have surrounded him with big time playmakers but he still isn’t putting up impressive numbers.

I couldn’t have been more wrong in my preview of this game as the Patriots punched the Jets in the mouth early in this game and they kept doing it until the game clock read all zeroes.  Mark Sanchez looked like a deer in headlights as he completed 17 of 33 passes for 164 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 64 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.9 ypc).  LaDainian Tomlinson pitched in with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg).  Joe McKnight even got in on the action late in this game with 19 yards rushing on 3 carries (6.3 ypc).  WR Santonio Holmes (7 rec, 72 yards) and TE Dustin Keller (3 rec, 27 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Jets last night.  The Jets finished up with 152 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.9 ypc) last night and they also completed 17 of 33 passes for 149 yards.

The vaunted Jets’ defense also sucked last night as Tom Brady shredded the secondary as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 326 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs.  DT Sione Pouha (8 tackles), safety Eric Smith (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and safety Brodney Pool (7 tackles) led the way for the Jets’ “D” in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 101 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 29 passes for 304 yards.  The Jets are now 9-3 on the season, 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.

The Jets have lost 28-year old starting free safety Jim Leonhard for the year after he broke his leg in a collision with WR Patrick Turner in practice.  Leonhard played in 11 games for the Jets this year and he had 61 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception and a fumble recovery.  He was also the Jets’ punt returner.  Leonhard returned 21 punts for 238 yards (11.3 avg) this year.  Eric Smith will replace Leonhard at safety.  Smith has played in 11 games so far this year and he has 43 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He should do a decent job.  CB Antonio Cromartie is going to get the first shot to replace Leonhard on punt returns.  He has only returned 1 punt for 4 yards so far in his NFL career.