The Miami Dolphins (6-10) refused to pass up a golden opportunity to end the season of the hated New York Jets (8-8), on New Year’s Day. A 19-17 victory by the Dolphins knocked New York out of contention for the sixth and final AFC postseason seed – meaning there will once again be no Super Bowl title for Gang Green, despite coach Rex Ryan’s preseason prediction.

But that didn’t sway Ryan to take the high road for a change. “I’m always going to chase the Super Bowl,” said Ryan. “I know I get criticized for it beyond belief, but if you don’t, then you’re probably a loser, OK? I’m not a loser.”

Two straight losses following an 8-5 start put the Jets in a position where they needed a significant amount of help to make a playoff run for the third consecutive season under Ryan. New York understood that a win against the Dolphins would be meaningless unless it was accompanied by losses for Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Denver/Oakland.

Scoreboard watching was unnecessary once this one was all said and done. New York had a slight advantage coming into the ball game, as 1,000 yard runner Reggie Bush and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jake Long were both unable to play due to knee and arm injuries, respectively. Bush’s 5.0 yards per carry was the highest average among 1,000 yard rushers this season.

Fourth year running back, Steve Slaton, replaced Bush and had 55 yards on 11 carries. The Jets had the upper hand on the ground with 129 combined yards in comparison to only 82 for the Dolphins. LaDanian Tomlinson made history yet again, as he passed former Steeler great, Jerome Bettis, for 5^th on the all time rushing list with 56 yards on the day.

A 44 yard Dan Carpenter field goal gave Miami an early 3-0 lead with 9:31 remaining in the first. Mark Sanchez responded with a one yard play action touchdown pass to tight end Justin Keller to put the Jets ahead 7-3 with just under 6 minutes in the quarter. The drive covered 77 yards in 8 plays.

Unable to take advantage of an Antonio Cromartie interception later in the quarter, the Jets defense would nonetheless hold Miami at bay and allow their offense to extend the lead to 10-3 with a 31 yard field goal late in the second quarter. Safety Brodney Pool’s interception with 25 seconds remaining in the half set the Jets up at their own 45, giving them a chance to take a two possession lead before entering the locker room.

A crucial interception by defensive lineman Randy Starks quickly erased Matt Moore’s interception. Miami suddenly cut the lead to 10-6 with a 58 yard field goal as time expired. It was an atrocious first half passing-wise. Sanchez and Matt Moore had a total of just 106 yards while throwing the 3 interceptions.

Miami took their first lead of the game in the 4^th with a record-setting drive. It was the longest possession of the season in regards to both time and amount of plays. The Dolphins went 94 yards downfield in 12 minutes and 29 seconds. A one yard 3^rd and goal touchdown pass to Charles Clay on the 21^st play put them ahead 13-10 with 10:27 remaining in regulation.

“I didn’t realize how long it was,” said Moore. “It was unbelievable, just a great job on everybody’s part.” Not since 1993 had the Jets given up a drive consisting of 21 plays. A 41 yard field goal made the score 16-10 Miami with 7:11 left to go following another Starks interception of Sanchez.

New York moved the ball all the way down to the Miami 10 on the next possession, but Sanchez’s third interception of the afternoon cost them mightily. Linebacker Marvin Mitchell recorded the pick and returned the ball back to the Jets 36. Miami tacked on another field goal to take a two possession lead, 19-10 with 2:32 on the clock.

Brandon Marshall sealed the win for the Dolphins with an onside kick recovery after a late Jets touchdown. Receiver Santonio Holmes appeared to quit on his team and was benched during the drive. This marked the first time in 95 career games where he did not record a reception.

New York finishes the season at .500 and goes into the offseason with several unanswered questions concerning their leadership and identity. The Dolphins now know what they’re capable of, winning 6 of their final 9 after an 0-7 start.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/MiamiDolphins

The article Dolphins End Jets’ Playoff Hopes With 19-17 Victory in Finale appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/Jets

The article Jets Win Laugher over Chiefs 37-10 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

It wasn’t as easy for the New York Jets in their second game with the Buffalo Bills, but the end result was the same. The Jets won a critical game and kept their playoff hopes alive. Led by Mark Sanchez and his career high four touchdown passes, the Jets escaped Sunday’s game with a win when Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 16-yard score with just over a minute left to keep the Jets in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

“He’s at his best in big moments,” coach Rex Ryan said. This was as big a moment as the Jets have had all season and with the win they now have only five more to go. The sentiment through the Jets locker room this week has been that they have to win in order to make it to the post season. It was looking like that was going to end with the first game when Dave Rayner hit a 53-yard field goal to put the Bills up 24-21.

Sanchez then led the Jets down the field, the key play coming on a third and 11 from the Bills 36 where Sanchez found Plaxico Burress along the sideline. Burress reached up and made an amazing one handed catch for 18 yards and the first down. ”It was crazy,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said of the catch. “He’s 6-foot-5 and he’s got those ‘Go-Go-Gadget’ arms. It was probably one of the best catches I’ve seen in a while.”

Sanchez ran a sneak to assure there would be no challenge and then on the next play rolled out right and found Holmes in the end zone for the go ahead score. Though posting a career high in touchdown passes, Sanchez was far from great. He finished 17 of 35 for 180 yards and a pick, but when things mattered most, he prevailed.

His Bills counterpart, Ryan Fitzpatrick, bounced back from a streak of bad games to go 26 of 39 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, but couldn’t manage one more at the end. Fitzpatrick found a wide open Stevie Johnson, but Johnson dropped the pass. He also missed Johnson in the end zone as he threw behind him and the catch couldn’t be made.

Johnson made headlines for other reasons than just the dropped pass. He scored a touchdown late in the first half and to celebrate mocked shooting himself in the thigh, clearly a shot at Plaxico Burress who had accidentally shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in 2008 when he was with the Giants.

He then continued by mocking the “flight” celebration many of the Jets use after they score and fell to the ground which got a flag for 15 yards and ended up leading to the Jets tying the game back up 14-14. ”I was just having fun and part of having fun ended up being a penalty and a touchdown for the Jets,” Johnson said. “It was a stupid decision by myself.”

“I’ve seen worse, and I’ve heard worse,” Burress said of Johnson’s celebration. “So, it doesn’t bother me at all. The result I’m looking at is we won the football game.”

The Jets have won their first game and look to continue their streak for the playoffs as they head down to Washington to square off with quarterback troubled Redskins. The Bills, now losers of four straight games look to snap the streak as they head home to face Matt Hasselback and the Tennessee Titans.
Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/Jets

The article Mark Sanchez Keeps The Jets Flying With a 28-24 Win Over Bills appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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.

Image Courtesy of    https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloBills

The article Game Preview: Bills at Jets in a Make or Break Game For Both Teams appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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.’

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/Jets

The article NY Jets Locker Room in Danger of Division appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.