Jets vs. Colts: The Biggest Plays of New York's 'Wild' Card Victory in Indy
The New York Jets beat the Indianapolis Colts in an exciting Wild Card matchup on Saturday night, rallying from behind to win the game as time expired.
The two teams exchanged blows in the early stages, with the Colts leading twice before ultimately being pegged back at the death.
A stupid Taj Gibson penalty looked to have killed the Colts late in the fourth quarter, but Adam Vinatieri get their hopes of another Super Bowl run alive when he nailed a 50-yard field goal with under a minute remaining.
Rex Ryan wasn't to be undone by Peyton Manning and company again, though. Antonio Cromartie got the Jets in great field position, Mark Sanchez and Braylon Edwards hooked up on a fine pass play to get their kicker well within range, and Nick Folk won the game from 32 yards as time elapsed.
Here are the key moments from New York's 17-16 victory over Indianapolis.
Jets Make a Stop, Colts Burn a Challenge
1 of 13
On the first drive of the game, the Jets' defense makes back-to-back plays to stop the Colts, who had a 2nd-and-inches play from their own 29. Bart Scott broke up a short Peyton Manning pass intended for Jacob Tamme on second down, and Brodney Pool dropped Joseph Addai for a loss of a couple yards on a run to the right. Sure, it was only the first play, but after Manning came out throwing, it no doubt gave the Jets a big boost early on.
What was of bigger importance was that the Colts challenged the ruling on the field from the ensuing punt after Santonio Holmes almost made a big mistake. Taking the returning duties, Holmes called for a fair catch but let the ball bounce through his legs. The Colts thought Holmes touched the ball on the way through, but the ruling stood that he didnât and the Colts were charged with a timeout just 1:31 into the game.
Multi-Purpose Smith Sidelined Early On
2 of 13
Brad Smith left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury and he remained on the sidelines throughout the rest of the half.
Smith fills a number of roles for Rex Ryan's team, including kick return duties, wide receiver, and Wildcat quarterback, and his absence was a big blow for the Jets who looked to have very few options on offense at times.
Whether he would have had much of an impact against the high-pressure Indy defense remains an unknown question, but just losing that option was a big enough problem.
Smith returned in the third quarter on a kickoff return and took a couple snaps in the fourth out of the Wildcat.
Sanchez Gets Edwards Into the Game, Pass Protection Shows Up
3 of 13
After exchanging tentative shots with each other early on, Mark Sanchez makes his first mid-length completion of the day, a 24-yard bullet over the middle to Braylon Edwards at the start of the second quarter. Â Sanchez had time to go through his progressions before rifling a pass to Edwards, who went up the ladder to catch the ball in front of Francisco just short of midfield.
The drive came to an end after a delay of game penalty forced Sanchez into a third and long situation, but at least the pass protection looked good and New York found a way to get Edwards a touch.
Things could have been a lot different had officials ruled the following punt down at the one yard line, but it was judged a touchback and the Colts started at the 20.
.jpg?w=256 "NFL Meetings Football")
.jpg?w=256 "Giants Harbaugh's Program Begins Football")
Colts Take the Lead as Garcon Burns D
4 of 13
The Colts make the breakthrough mid way through the second quarter when Peyton Manning links up with Pierre Garcon for a 57-yard touchdown. On the fourth play of the drive, after Rhodes had ran up the middle to give Indianapolis a new set of downs, Garcon sprints up the right sideline and beats Cromartie to the middle of the field. Brodney Pool is slow to come across in coverage, but the real blame lies with Cromartie.
LT Goes In From a Yard, Ties Things Up
5 of 13
After seven runs and two pass plays on a drive that started on their own 37, the Jets take the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown.
LaDainian Tomlinson goes up the middle from the one-yard line to the house, despite the best efforts of 242 pound linebacker Kavell Connor, who flew over the top of the bodies as the Jets pushed the Coltsâ defense back into the end zone. It's was LT's 10th carry of the day.
Folkâs extra point tied the game up at 7-7 with just over two minutes into the third quarter.
Sanchez Gets Picked as Jets Come Up Empty
6 of 13
Down by seven with 1:01 left in the second, the Jets looked to put points on the board before the end of the first half.
But after a pair of incomplete passes thrown high to Dustin Keller, Mark Sanchez comes out of the shotgun and gets picked off by Tryon at the goal line on the left side of the field as he tried to throw the TD pass.
Sanchez had made a nice 14-yard pass on second and 13 earlier in the drive to keep things alive in the final minute of the half, but he looked nervous trying to force the issue and it resulted in a 23-yard return. No touchdown. No field goal. No points going into halftime.
Vinatieri Puts Indy On Top Despite Big Jets Stop
7 of 13
The Colts took a third-quarter lead with five minutes left to play in the period, but it could have been worse for the Jets.
Joseph Addai ripped off a 14-yard run on third and nine from the Coltsâ 49, but the Jetsâ D responded on the next set of downs by stopping Indyâs Rhodes on third and one on the 28 yard line, setting up Adam Vinatieriâs 47-yard field goal. The Jets continued to make short-yardage stops, but that one big play in the first half cost them dearly.
A field goal wasnât the worst outcome here, especially considering the Jets still had a quarter-and-a-half left and would take the lead in the early stages of the fourth.
LT Pounds the Rock, Gives Jets Fourth Quarter Advantage
8 of 13
The numbers say it all. 17 plays. 87 yards. 9 minutes and 54 seconds.
LT bursts home from the Indy one yard line on third down to cap off a methodical drive and give the Jets their first lead of the game.
There were two other plays of note in this drive, most notably Sanchez flipping the ball to Tomlinson for a nine yard gain on third and seven on the first play of the fourth quarter, and then picking up six yards on the ground on third and one on the Coltsâ 21.
Pool Makes the Stop, Colts Cut Deficit to One
9 of 13
Brodney Pool makes a big stop with 5:16 left to play in the game, tackling Rhodes on the Jetsâ 14 yard line, six yards short of a first down.
The Colts had to bring Vinatieri on to kick, but in a four-point game, a three-point field goal is good enough.
The Colts had threatened to regain the lead when Peyton Manning hooked up with Pierre Garcon for an 18-yard pickup on third and eight, but the New York defense held firm and got the ball back with the narrowest of leads and 4:41 to play.
Holmes Drops a Massive Third Down Pass, Gets Redemption
10 of 13
On third and five, Santonio Holmes runs an out route and looks to have an easy six or seven yard completion. A catch would have given the Jets a new set of downs and would have forced the Colts to burn a bunchâmaybe all three of their timeouts, as the Jets then ran the ball. Unfortunately for Gang Green, Holmes could not bring in the simple pass and the Jets were forced to punt the ball away.
That drop would have been pretty huge had it not been for the following play...
Smith's Penalty Kills Jets, Hands Indy Final Chance
11 of 13
Taj Smith could have been the new scapegoat in Indianapolis after a bonehead penalty cost the Colts in the final quarter of Saturdayâs game. After Holmes dropped a very catchable pass on third down, Weatherford lined up to punt the ball back to Manning and Co.
The 46-yard punt was meaningless though, as Smith ran into Weatherford after he got the kick away, causing a needless five-yard Running Into the Kicker penalty.
Because the Jets were punting on fourth and five, the five-yard infraction gave the Jets a new set of downs at their 25 and caused Indy to burn a pair of timeouts getting the ball back.
As with Holmes, Smith had some help getting out of a jam...
Vinatieri as Clutch as Ever, But Defense Is the Real Story
12 of 13
After Peyton Manning threw incomplete to White on third down, Adam Vinatieri took the field with just under a minute remaining.
As he had done so many other times before, Vinatieri was perfectly clutch, splitting the uprights from 50 yards and giving the Colts a 16-14 lead.
Though the bigger story was the Jets' defense blitzing on third down on the previous play. Had the Colts completed the play and racked up another third down, they would have been in a position to run the clock down much further before Vinatieri's kick.
It still wasn't enough as the Jets fought hard and had the last laugh.
a Folk Hero Sends the Jets To Foxboro
13 of 13
After more than 59 minutes of football, the game comes down to the final plays of the game.
Antonio Cromartie returns the Colts' kickoff for 47 yards and Nick Folk is on the sideline preparing for a 50-yard field goal. Mark Sanchez decides to make things a little easier.
Coming out of an Indy timeout, Sanchez throws out of the shotgun to the right sideline to Braylon Edwards who goes up in coverage with Lacey, catches the ball and gets both feet inbounds. It was a great catch and, in my mind, the difference here because Iâm still unsure whether Folk would had made the kick from 50.
Edwards never went out of bounds and the clock continued to run until the Jets stopped it with three ticks remaining. The 18-yard play marches the Jets from the 32 yard line to the 14, setting up a 32-yard field goal at the gun from Folk.
The ball edged toward the right upright before straightening out enough to give the Jets the victory and send them to Foxboro.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Meetings Football")
.jpg?w=480 "Giants Harbaugh's Program Begins Football")
.jpg?w=600 "NFL Teams Under Most Pressure â¨ď¸")
.jpg?w=600 "Jeremiyah Love on Giants' Radar")