Jets Blow 16-point, Fourth-Quarter Lead, But Rally to Defeat Texans, 30-27 by Derrel “Jazz” Johnson

The New York Jets took it easy on their fans by not going into overtime for a third-straight game. After blowing a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Houston Texans that cleared half of the stadium, the Jets rallied for a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mark Sanchez to wide receiver Santonio Holmes, after a 42-yard pass play from Sanchez to wide receiver Braylon Edwards got them into the red zone, to defeat the Texans 30-27.

The Jets opened the scoring in this one with a 37-yard field goal from Nick Folk, but the Texans took the lead on a 11-play, 67-yard drive that ended with an Arian Foster 2-yard touchdown run. The Jets responded with a 10-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Sanchez to Edwards of 4 yards. The Jets would eventually take a 23-7 lead after a couple of Nick Folk field goals and a 41-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Holmes. This is when the Texan offense erupted.

A Neil Rackers 38-yard field goal cut the lead to 23-10, then after a Shonn Greene fumble, recovered by Brian Cushing, the Texans scored on the next play on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Texan quarterback Matt Schaub to Joel Dreessen to stun the crowd and cut the lead to 23-17. After a Jet punt, the Texans then went on a 7-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a spectacular touchdown run by Foster that the Jets challenged, and lost, to take a 24-23 lead. After Sanchez threw an interception on the next Jet possession, the Texans had the ball at the Jet 10 and many fans began to empty the building. The Jet defense allowed a field goal, and the Texans had a 27-23 lead. This is when Sanchez lead the Jets down the field with 45 seconds and no timeouts to take a 30-23 lead with 10 seconds left in the game, the final score.

When asked about the game-winning drive after the game, referring to the biggest play of the drive to Edwards, Sanchez said “Nick kinda saved that play,” referring to Nick Mangold making a block that kept the play alive. “We are not out until the final whistle” Sanchez said, which shows the confidence the Jets now have in the final moments. When asked about his big play ability with Holmes, Sanchez admitted “He does most of the work to be honest,” while Holmes simply stated he is “Just playing football. Having a little fun.” When asked about the emotions of catching a winning touchdown pass, Holmes replied “That was a great feeling. You never want to shy away from those moments.”

Head coach Rex Ryan apologized to Jet fans for the stress the team has caused over the last three games, but also said “If I have to apologize…I will all the way to the Super Bowl.” When talking about the confidence the team has in Sanchez, Ryan stated “We believe he is going to get it done.” Get it done he has, and Jet fans are confident that he will continue to get it done, like Ryan said, all the way to the Super Bowl.