In this exciting game, that was not decided until the 4th quarter, the Jets rallied from behind to beat the chargers 27 to 21. Anyone who purchased tickets for this event was left disappointed and dissatisfied by the end of that day.
The first period opened the affair with the Chargers recovering a fumble and turning it into a touchdown with a 37 yard run, after Donald Butler ripped the ball out of the hands of New York tight end Dustin Keller and scored on the recovery. The Jets were also able to score a field-goal after moving the ball for 64 yards up the field.
The second was a bit more exciting as multiple scoring chances were exploited by both teams. The Chargers controlled the ball for most of period, scoring 2 touchdowns on time consuming possessions. The first score was an 87 yard drive in 11 plays that started at the 13 yard line and consumed over 6 minutes of the quarter. The second score was almost as extensive, and began at the 24 yard line and lasted for another 6 minutes. The Jets, were able to score a touchdown on one of their 2 possessions of the period. The score at the end of the first half was 21 to 10 in favor of San Diego.
The 2nd half became more of a defensive affair, without much scoring except for the Jets who were able to score after moving the ball up the field from a short 55 yard position. There were 3 punts each exchanged by both teams and the Chargers, after jumping out to the early lead would have been up by a lot more if not for their mistakes. They were called for 13 penalties throughout the game. The New York Jets had an impressive drive on their second possession of the second half, and completed a 10-play drive, with Burress scoring a 4-yard touchdown catch that made it 21-17 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
In the 4th quarter with the Chargers leading 21-17, and driving for a possible game-sealing score, Philip Rivers, the San Diego quarterback, threw to Vincent Jackson and the ball tipped off the receiver’s hands and right into the hands of cornerback Darelle Revis, who returned the interception 64 yards to the Chargers 19. From there, the Jets were able to convert the score with Mark Sanchez throwing a 3 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress. The Jets were able to score again a field goal that literally sealed the game away in the fourth period with the final score of 27 to 21.
There were some memorable performances on both sides as Shonn Greene, the feature back in the New York Jets offence, rushed for a season-high 112 yards, in his breakout performance. Quarterback, Mark Sanchez Sanchez finished 18 completions of 33 attempts, for 173 yards, including three touchdowns and an interception in an effective short passing attack. Wide receiver Plaxico Burress came up big with 3 touchdown receptions at the most needed times, that helped the Jets control to the score.
They lost scoring opportunities after being penalized on several occasions, and with Philip Rivers, throwing 2 costly interceptions and competing just 179 yards, it appeared that not much could be done offensively, as the passing game did not yield much . The Jets were also able to contain receiver Vincent Jackson, who finished with one reception for 15 yards and also yielded an interception. They are going to have to step up their offense for their next game if they want to sell out their stadium. They are going to need their fan support to rally them to victory.
