Aside from having to call a timeout before ever running an offensive play and losing safety Jim Leonhard to a potential season-ending knee injury, the New York Jets got exactly what they needed on Sunday. The team won an easy game over the Kansas City Chiefs and got help from the rest of the N.F.L. as Cincinnati, Oakland, and Tennessee all lost, putting the Jets in control of their playoff destiny with three weeks remaining.

Aside from the timeout, the Jets offense came out firing and never stopped. For the second straight game, the Jets offense scored on their first drive and put up 30+ points, cruising to victory over the Chiefs 37-10 to move into the final wild card spot. Mark Sanchez became the first quarterback in Jets history to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns.

The Jets have been slow starters all season rarely scoring in the first quarter let along their first drive, but were able to rebound after an inexcusable timeout was called due to the wrong personnel being on the field at the start of the first drive. They scored 28 points in the first half and the defense dominated the hurting Chiefs holding them to just four total yards in the first half,

Sanchez finished the game 13 of 21 for 181 yards before Mark Brunell came in to finish the game. Shonn Greene led the way on the ground rushing for a season-high 129 yards and a score while catching three balls for 58 yards. LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes caught touchdowns from Sanchez and the Jets won their third straight improving to 8-5 overall and 6-1 at home.

Tyler Palko got sacked five times and finished 3 of 8 for 11 yards in the first half and 16 of 32 for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception. During the worst part, the Chiefs got flagged five times for 81 yards during the Jets’ final touchdown drive. One of the flags was on head coach Todd Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“That generally gets you beat,” said Haley, who wouldn’t elaborate on what he said to the officials. “The one thing we can’t do is lose our composure on calls.” Sanchez capped the first drive with a one-yard touchdown run and the Jets never looked back. He finished an 11 play, 77-yard drive to set the tone for the rest of the game.

After Leonhard made an interception, was injured, then carted off the field, Sanchez found Greene for 36 yards. Two plays later, Sanchez found Holmes for a four-yard strike to make it 14-3.Greene’s seven-yard touchdown run gave the Jets a 21-3 lead and Tomlinson made it 28-3 less than two minutes later on a screen pass from Sanchez near the end of the half.

The Chiefs’ lone scoring drive came when Jerheme Urban caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-10, but the Chiefs didn’t have much else to smile about. Sione Pouha finished things off by tackling Jackie Battle for a safety late in the game.

New York is now in control of its destiny with only three weeks left in the season. They travel to Philadelphia to face the Giants and finish up on the road against Miami. Kansas City heads back home to face the undefeated Packers, and then finishes the season with games against Oakland and at Denver.

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Don’t let the score fool you; this game was closer than it appears on paper. For the second straight week, the New York Jets played three quarters of mediocre football and picked things up to win the game in the fourth quarter. Led by Shonn Greene’s three touchdowns, the Jets managed to win another close game to put them right into the thick of the AFC Wildcard race.

It took a big play from Aaron Maybin to spark the team when he sacked Rex Grossman, and forced a fumble that set up one of Greene’s two touchdowns. The other big play came on the series before when Mark Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 30-yard touchdown pass to put the Jets ahead for good with just under five minutes to play.

With the Jets needing to win out to make the playoffs, Sanchez again came up big when it mattered most. The win keeps the Jets in the hunt for the last wildcard spot as they got some help with Oakland and Cincinnati losing. ”It tells us we have to get better,” Rex Ryan said. “Sometimes, you don’t like it to come down to that.”

Getting better is an understatement, as the Jets only had 168 total yards after three quarters against the Redskins, a team that has lost seven of eight games. Sanchez only had 165 yards on 19 of 32 passing and one touchdown, but didn’t throw an interception for the first time in five games. For the second straight week, the offensive line didn’t allow a sack.

Greene contributed with 88 yards on 22 carries and saw much of the workload despite LaDainian Tomlinson returning after missing two weeks with a knee injury. ”It was rough the first half,” Greene said. “But we just kept together and kept plugging away.” Grossman ran 19 of 46 for 221 yards, and had one interception and afumble that halted any chance of Washington mounting a comeback.

The fumble was recovered by Calvin Pace, and Greene turned it into six with a nine-yard run out of the wildcat. ”That was just one of those situations where we knew as a defense it was crunch time,” said Maybin, “We’ve been in those situations.” The Jets were trailing 16-13 with just under eight minutes to go, but a hit-or-miss kickoff was returned to midfield.That’s when Sanchez scrambled to avoid the sack, and completed a pass on third and four to Greene for 10 yards. Two plays later, he found Holmes wide open for the long score.

A bright spot for the Redskins, Fred Davis, who has been having a great season, had six catches for 99 yards. After the game, news broke that both he and left tackle, Trent Williams, are going to be suspended for the rest of the season for breaking the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Rookie running back Roy Helu also had a good game rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. His score came at the beginning of the game to put Washington up 7-0. The Jets came right back with a 17 play, 74-yard drive to score the tying score. With this second late surge in a row, Ryan thinks the Jets are on their way to their third straight playoff appearance.

“We know where we think we’re going,” he said. “More confident than 100 percent? I don’t know about that.”

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The Jets are mathematically still in the thick of the AFC wild card race, but if they don’t improve their play it’s not going to matter what the numbers say. Coming off a victory over the Bills in a must-win game, the Jets look to keep things rolling when they travel to FedEx to face the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

New York narrowly avoided a loss and possibly the end of their season when Mark Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for the game winning touchdown with just over a minute left last week against the Buffalo Bills. While they got the win it was hardly a pretty game as Sanchez struggled, despite throwing for a career high four touchdowns, and the defense had trouble stopping a Bills offense which was without its best player in running back Fred Jackson.

Their play wasn’t a good sign for a team likely forced to win at least four of their last five games, if not all, to have a shot at the final playoff spot in the AFC. For the Jets to have success down the stretch, they’ll have to rely on Sanchez to improve his play and lead the team. He completed 48.6 percent of his passes for only 180 yards last week.

The once feared defense allowed the Bills to drive 90 yards down the field for the score earlier in the game, and almost let Ryan Fitzpatrick lead the Bills down the field in less than a minute for the game winning score. Had Stevie Johnson made a wide-open catch on a play during that drive, the Bills probably would’ve scored and won the game.

“We have to keep improving, there’s no question,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “We’re not going to win and we’re not going to reach our goal if we don’t get better. But we definitely plan on getting better.”

“It is funny how if we make a mistake, we’re horrible and it’s, `Oh, they’re terrible,” Ryan said. “That could be bad luck there, too. But if we make a play, it’s, `Oh, we’re just lucky.’ So, maybe it’s the green (team colors). I don’t know. I hope karma is with us. I hope we continue to be lucky, and we’ll take that.

“The old saying, `I’d rather be lucky than good.’ I’d rather be both, and I think we are.” The Jets are hoping for luck, and that they gained momentum heading into the game Sunday because their track record against the ‘Skins isn’t good. The Jets are 1-8 all time versus Washington.

Washington also hopes to keep some momentum going, coming off a close win over Seattle to snap a six game losing streak. The Redskins came back from 10 down in the fourth to score 16 unanswered points. ”That’s what you’re in this game to do, is to win,” Washington coach Mike Shanahan said. “But at the same time, when you’re around a football team that’s giving you everything they’ve got, you feel good.

“That’s why I feel good about the character of this football team, and it was nice to find a way to win because they deserved to win. Our players have been working extremely hard, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Rex Grossman is coming off of one of his best performances of the season completing over 73 percent of his passes and racking up 314 yards. To add to that, rookie running back Roy Helu earned himself the start this week rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown last week. He also caught seven passes for 54 yards as well.

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If the Bills’ season does not turn around, they will look back to Week 9 when they faced the New York Jets and were defeated in front of their home crowd. Going into Week 12, the Bills have a chance to stop the bleeding and keep themselves in the wild card race if they can muster a win over the same New York Jets.

The Bills have lost three straight and are facing a Jets team that is trying to avoid their own third straight loss when the teams square off Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

During this tough stretch, the Bills have only managed to score 26 points which is nothing compared to the team scoring 30 points a game through their first 7 games. To make things worse, running back Fred Jackson, who was amidst a career year with 934 yards good for third in the league, was lost for the season when he broke a bone in his left leg last week.

The Bills now turn to former first round pick, C.J. Spiller, to carry the load in the running game. Spiller has been somewhat of an underachiever, only showing some promise in the return game, but not so much out of the backfield. The real key for the Bills comes with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who since signing a new contract three weeks ago has not played up to it. “We’re trying to figure out some answers and looking to see some results this week,” Fitzpatrick said.

In the past six games, Fitzpatrick has thrown 11 interceptions. His favorite target, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, who only has seven catches during this losing streak and when facing the Jets, has been another victim of Revis Island. He has 11 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown in the past three meetings with the Jets.

The Jets, like the Bills, have also been reeling as of late. Two weeks ago, the Jets were riding a three game winning streak heading into a game at home against New England for first place in the AFC East. They not only got blown out of the water in that game, but also turned around and lost to the Tim Tebow led Denver Broncos four days later.

They now find themselves two games out of first behind the Patriots and in serious danger of not making the playoffs at all. There is hope that another win over the Bills will be just what they need to turn things around. They have been here before, having to finish up the season strong to make the playoffs. “I think everyone kind of feels like it’s now or never,” safety Jim Leonhard said.

“We have to play well, and we have to play well now.” The Jets schedule definitely favors them, as the New York Giants are currently the only remaining team the Jets will face that currently has a winning record. “In this game, you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “You have to move on, and you have to get ready to play.”

This is a good opportunity for us to get on the right track and try to go on a roll because we have to. We can’t afford to lose any more games.” Just as it is for the Bills, the Jets will need quarterback Mark Sanchez to step up his play, which has hardly been NFL quality the past two games.

He has an NFL high of three interceptions returned for touchdowns, two of those coming in the past two games. Last time the Jets and Bills faced off, Sanchez was 20 of 28 for 230 yards with one TD and one interception, but the Jets were able to manhandle the Bills with their physical play at the line on both sides of the ball.

Running back Shonn Greene, who left the game in Denver and never returned, looks to be okay and is expected to play Sunday. The Jets will need a repeat performance of the game in Week 9 if they want to get the ball rolling, as they aim to make a late season run at a wild card spot and into the playoffs.

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When reports first surfaced about there being a possible rift in the Jets locker room, the Jets organization was quick to downplay it. The report stated that the Jets’ three big-name wide receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason went to Rex Ryan to complain about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ play calling.

The Jets issued a statement 90 minutes before their game last weekend against the New England Patriots, saying the report wasn’t true and that the meeting never took place. After the game this week, all three receivers and Ryan all denied the report.

Derrick Mason has since been traded to Houston due to ‘lack of performance’, though many speculate Mason’s critical post-game comments lead to his benching during the New England game and his eventual trade. This move wasn’t popular among the receiving core and served as somewhat of a wake-up call to the rest of the Jets team, a call that Holmes clearly didn’t answer.

Santonio Holmes repeated his criticism of the offensive line. “I may be criticized again for saying it, but it starts up front,” Holmes said Thursday. “The big guys know it. If they give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes.”

While this may be a true statement, it’s not what the Jets need. Holmes, clearly frustrated after the poor and very conservative play calling against the worst ranked defense in the league, said, “The numbers speak for themselves,” he said, adding, “If you were in my shoes, what would you think?”

Guard Brandon Moore fired back on Friday. “He’s obviously got the green light to evaluate every position on the team,” Moore said. “I just didn’t think captaincy entailed that. I’ve never seen a captain do that. That’s not leading. That’s not being a leader. It actually fragments the locker room. It’s not productive.”

The offensive line is clearly ticked off and this couldn’t come at a worse time for the Jets who are in the midst of a three game losing streak. The fact that Moore said anything back, especially something critical, shows the state of the locker room. Moore is regarded as a quiet leader and is the longest tenured offensive lineman.

Schottenheimer, who’s been under a ton of scrutiny from the fans, media, and some players alike, downplayed the situation between Holmes and Moore. “The team is a family and families have disagreements.” He said the offense has “a great relationship,” expressing confidence that the players will resolve their differences.

Schottenheimer has plans to address this issue with the entire offensive unit. “Absolutely,” he said. “Whether it’s done in public or whether it’s done in private, these are things we’ll keep in-house. But this group will be ready to go Monday night, I have no questions about that.”

He’d better hope they’re ready as his job may be riding on it. While this could just be the product of a frustrated team in a tough spot, it could prove either a breaking point or the season turn-around for the team.

While Holmes is right about the play of the offensive line, going public isn’t something a leader should do. He’s never been one to shy away from speaking his mind and this is one of the reasons why the Steelers were willing to trade him for such a low cost, a fifth round draft pick. One thing is for sure, if the Jets lose to the winless Dolphins and Matt Moore on Monday night, this will be just the beginning of the team’s problems.

The Jets are on a tailspin right now, but with problems like this brewing in the locker room, they could very well be in route to crash and burn. A season that started with Super Bowl aspirations could end with a team divided and a fan base left believing that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

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