New York Jets off to AFC Championship game after defeating the New England Patriots – (Part II)
Continued from Part 1
The New York Jets had taken a 3-point lead over the New England Patriots in Sunday’s playoff showdown between the division rivals. The Patriots had scored a field in the first quarter, while the Jets surged ahead with a touchdown in the second.
Before the end of the second quarter the Jets were presented with another scoring opportunity. After an unsuccessful drive New England was in the punt formation. From the 38-yard line Pat Chung fumbled the snap. Although he got the ball back, by the time
he did the Jets were all over him and stopped him at the 37-yard line. New York’s offence then took possession of the ball in the Patriots’ half for the third time in the game.
LaDainian Tomlinson rushed 16 yards for the Jets and was stopped just a yard short of the redzone. Tomlinson rushed again on the next play for 6 more yards to take New York to the 15 yard line. From the 15, quarterback Mark Sanchez threw a 15-yard touchdown
pass to Braylon Edwards. Edwards caught the ball on the 10-yard line, but cornerback Devin McCourty got a hold of him and tried to pull him down. Safety Brandon Meriweather also joined in and tried to stop Edwards, but somehow he powered through those 10-yards
to the endzone despite being pulled by two players.
Neither side scored anymore points almost until the end of the third quarter. Throughout most of the first half, Brady looked nothing like the quarterback he had been in the regular season. The Patriots had thrown an interception and had no touchdowns in
the first half. With four minutes to go in the quarter, their offence exploded. Brady started the series on New England’s 20 with a 37-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski. The Rookie led the Patriots in receiving yards in his first-ever playoff game.
Deion Branch caught 12 and 16 yard passes back-to-back and took the Patriots inside the redzone. BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Wes Welker contributed 17 yards and set the stage for New England’s first touchdown. On the final play of the drive, Brady waited inside
the pocket for one of his receivers to be open in the endzone. That receiver turned out to be Alge Crumpler.
Instead of going for the extra point, the Patriots decided to try the two-point conversion. Running back Sammy Morris rushed through the middle and the attempt was successful. With the two-point conversion the Patriots trailed the Jets by just a field goal.
The Jets though had no intention of letting the Patriots take away their lead.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mark Sanchez connected with Jerricho Cotchery for a 57-yard gain. Cotchery ran the ball while almost being surrounded by blue jerseys, and continued on to New England’s 13-yard-line before he was pushed out of bounds
by safety Brandon Meriweather. Santonio Holmes caught the touchdown pass from the 7-yard line and extended New York’s lead to 10 points.
After the touchdown, the Patriots set off on the longest drive of the game. Their offence started on the 18-yard line with almost 13 minutes remaining. New England rushed the ball seven times in that series. Brady attempted to pass the ball six times and
connected on three of those occasions for 25 yards.
The drive ended on the 34-yard line and consumed almost seven and a half minutes of the final quarter. The Patriots had possession again on the 43-yard line with over three minutes still on the clock. In six no huddle plays, New England advanced to within
field goal range. Shayne Graham attempted a 35-yard field goal and the attempt was good.
After the field goal the Patriots went for the on-side kick to try to take the ball back from the Jets. The ball was kicked around between the Jets and the Patriots, until finally Antonio Cromartie got his hands on the ball, and ran with it for 23 yards.
A play later, Shonn Greene rushed 16 yards for the touchdown with a minute and 46 seconds remaining.
The Patriots returned the kick for 23 yards and Brady connected no huddle for 9, 13 and 14 yards. New England advanced to the 13-yard line and Brady threw the final touchdown pass to Deion Branch, but the Patriots still trailed the Jets by seven points and
lost the game.
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