New York Jets Pull Off Miraculous Comeback to Stun Houston Texans, 30-27
The Jets don't lose games late, anymore. Well, they don't lose many at all, as they are now 8-2, but Sunday's win was magical. It's wins like these that bring a team together and prove to critics that they're a true threat.
The Texans were in town, trying to avoid their fourth-straight loss and had the game won with under a minute to go.
After Houston scored 10 points late to take a 27-23 lead, Mark Sanchez led the offense down field in about 50 seconds without any timeouts remaining to steal the victory--the Jets' third straight--handing the Texans two straight heartbreaking defeats.
Keep reading for a breakdown of the Jets 30-27 win with opinion and analysis of Week 11.
Jets Running Game Can't Get Going
1 of 6
The Texans entered the game as the worst pass defense in football, and the Jets should've had more passing plays.
It was stunning, though, to see that they couldn't run when they attempted to. All game, the Jets running backs couldn't establish themselves, not getting far from scrimmage.
LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene combined for only 76 yards rushing on 27 carries and really forced Sanchez to put up big passing numbers. Sanchez himself ran two plays for 22 yards, including one for 12 yards.
It had appeared recently that Tomlinson was not going to put up the numbers he did to start the season. If so, it's a good sign that Sanchez is starting to show he could be an elite passing quarterback.
Darrelle Revis Has Returned
2 of 6
It's fair to say that Revis Island is dangerous again. It took some time for Darrelle Revis to return to form but now, he's back to being the shut down cornerback that he is.
He shut down Texans receiver Andre Johnson in Week 1 of last season and did so again in this game. Johnson only caught four passes for 32 yards and didn't get into the end zone, as he got beat on his only touchdown attempt by Revis.
The problem for the Jets was that they allowed Joel Dreessen, a tight end that only had 109 receiving yards all season, to go for 106 yards.
That wasn't Revis's problem, though, as he once again shut down the opponent's best receiver.
He's back to the player he was all of last season, when the phrase "Revis Island" was created, and that's a great thing for the Jets defense.
Nick Folk Earns Back Respect with Solid Effort
3 of 6
After last week's win over the Browns, everyone wanted kicker Nick Folk to be cut. He missed a career-high three field goals, and although he was having a great season, people forgot about his success and lost all confidence in him.
He reinstalled confidence in Sunday's win, kicking three field goals and three point afters to accumulate 12 of the team's 30 points.
That may not look like much, but if he misses those field goals like last week, the Jets lose the game by a huge margin.
The way the offense never seems to score easy touchdowns in the red zone, Folk will be needed to kick huge field goals, and it's nice to see that he's still reliable after one off week.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Jets' Fourth Quarter Defense Is a Huge Problem
4 of 6
It's officially time to be concerned about the Jets fourth quarter defense. The first three quarters aren't really an issue, as the Jets only allowed seven points before the fourth, but then all hell broke loose.
The Jets actually kicked a field goal to go up 23-7, but they blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead at home to a losing team.
The Texans started the comeback with a Neil Rackers field goal to cut the deficit to 23-10. The Jets next possession ended on a fumble by Shonn Greene as the Texans recovered at the Jets 43-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Matt Schaub converted on a 43-yard touchdown pass to Joel Dreessen to pull within 23-17.
The Jets then had to punt after a failed six-play drive, and the Texans scored another touchdown on a one-yard Arian Foster run to take a 24-23 lead. The New Meadowlands Stadium crowd was stunned as a sure-fire win was blown.
Although the Jets would pull out the magical comeback, it's still a huge cause for concern regarding the Jets late-game defense. Nothing seems to be going right, and there are way too many blown coverages.
Eventually, pulling a rabbit out of a hat won't come to fruition for the offense, and the Jets will lose a huge game like this would've been.
There's a lot of work to be done with Rex Ryan and Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
Mark Sanchez Has Grown Up and Santonio Holmes Is the Man
5 of 6
Last season, Mark Sanchez looked like a rookie. It made sense because he was one, but critics treated him like he was a failure at times.
He showed signs of maturity during the postseason, even entering halftime with a lead at the AFC Championship Game.
Things didn't go well for Sanchez in preseason or in Week 1, but he has finally become a big-time quarterback. The last two weeks, he's been clutch in overtime victories, which some have attributed to luck.
In this game, he was just great. No luck was needed, and perhaps this is who he will be for the next decade.
After the Jets trailed 24-23, Sanchez needed to put his team in field goal range to win the game, but he threw an interception and it seemed that the game was over.
The Texans came back to kick a field goal to extend the lead to 27-23 to put the "icing on the cake" or so it seemed.
The Jets got the ball back with 55 seconds left and no timeouts, and started the drive at their own 28-yard line.
There was no way the Jets could win, needing a touchdown with so little time remaining. That's when Sanchez stepped up to become a star.
After getting to the Texans' 48-yard line and spiking the ball to stop the clock, Sanchez threw a deep ball to Braylon Edwards, caught inbounds at the 6-yard line.
Then it was time to go to his go-to-guy, Santonio Holmes. On the first play from the six, Sanchez lobbed a pass to Holmes in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Jets a 30-27 lead. It was the third straight week that Sanchez-to-Holmes worked for the victory.
Holmes has finally become the receiver he was for the Steelers, and the Jets have a feared combination to work with.
Closing Opinion and What's Next For Jets
6 of 6
The Jets are on a roll again, winning three straight games and improving to a league-best 8-2. They've won all three games on virtually the final play, but they will take those victories as they try to secure best record in the hotly-contested AFC.
The Jets will enter Week 12 in first place in the AFC East, holding a tiebreaker over the Patriots, and will have a short week of rest. In fact, they'll only have three days off as they'll turn around and play on Thanksgiving night.
They'll face the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals fell to 2-8 on Sunday, losing to the equally-bad Buffalo Bills at home after leading 31-14 at halftime. The Bills outscored the Bengals 35-0 in the second half to win 49-31.
The Jets will be at home for the second straight week, as they now have a winning record at home and on the road. They will be looking to improve to 9-2 before taking on the Patriots on Monday night in Week 13.
AFC East Standings After Week 11
NY Jets 8-2 (1)
New England 8-2
Miami 5-5
Buffalo 2-8
(1) - Jets' current seed in AFC
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")