Week 13 Game Recap: New York Jets 38, Green Bay Packers 10

What you need to know

New York Jets

This was the Jets’ day on offense and on defense in the first half, with everything going their way and the Jets catching all of the breaks. Chad Pennington had a spectacular first half, including 241 yard and two touchdowns. In the second half however, Pennington threw two interceptions in the third quarter and struggled as they were barely on the field in the second half and it showed in his stats as Pennington only had 23 yards in the second half.

When Pennington was not picking apart the Packers’ secondary, Cedric Houston was there to run the ball very effectively and was also able to get into the end zone, with both scores coming inside the five.

Jerricho Cotchery was the wide receiver that benefited the most from the Jets’ huge day on offense getting 12 targets on offense which he was able to convert into nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown reception.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers struggled in almost all of the aspects of the game in the first half, as it seemed like the defense was always on the field with the Jets driving on them, and the offense had many three and outs.

Brett Favre was unable to find an open receiver past five yards of the line of scrimmage, and this showed in his stats as almost all of his completions were made either to running backs or tight ends. However in the second half it seemed like a different team as they were able to drive down the field for a field goal, and gave them momentum for the rest of the game.

Although Donald Driver was targeted 12 times in the passing game, he was only able to make three catches, but one was a 20 yard touchdown.

Ahman Green had a good game running the ball; he was able to find holes, especially up the middle, on the Jets’ defense and was able to break several plays of ten or more yards. Green was also active in the passing game, making four receptions for 38 yards. Green was able to finish the day with 140 total yards and 102 rushing yards.

What you ought to know

QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 25 - 35 - 263 - 2 TD / 2 INT

Pennington had a great first half, as he went 22 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns, in route to leading his team to a 31 point first half. Pennington was extremely accurate finding many of his receivers on crossing routes and on play action passes. He favored Cotchery the most for receivers with a total of 12 targets and also hooked up with him on a 12 yard pass for a touchdown late in the first quarter. In the second half Pennington looked like a different quarterback, he threw two interceptions in the third quarter and only had 22 passing yards in the second half.

RB Cedric Houston, Rush: 22 - 105 - 2, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (3 targets)

Houston had a great first half, as he had 13 rushes for 55 yards and two touchdowns. Houston was able to find holes all day because the passing game was working so well it opened up the running game. In the second half Houston did not get the ball very often because of turnovers and a recovered onside kick. When he did get the ball, Houston was able to kill the clock and even broke a 31 yard run, and finished the day with 105 yards and two touchdowns.

RB Leon Washington, Rush: 7 - 40 - 1, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (2 targets)

Washington got the majority of his carries in the fourth quarter when the Jets were trying to kill the clock; however he was able to break a 20 yard run for a touchdown, which ruined the Packers’ momentum and iced the game for the Jets. He was also targeted twice in the passing game and caught both of his targets.

WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 9 - 99 - 1 (12 targets)

Cotchery was the go to guy for Pennington, getting a game high 12 targets and was able to convert that into nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. The majority of his catches were on crossing routes or quick outs, however he was open much of the day was very effective. Cotchery could have had more receptions but he was often interfered with, including one target in the end zone that resulted in pass interference and an eventual touchdown for the Jets.

WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (6 targets)

Although being targeted six times in the passing game, Coles had a quiet game with three catches for 28 yards.

WR Brad Smith, Rush: 1 - 32 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (1 targets)

Smith was targeted once in the passing game, but also had a big 32 yard rushing play where he got the ball on a reverse and went up the sideline but was eventually pushed out.

WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (4 targets)

Although McCareins was targeted several times in passing game, he was only able to make one catch for 17 yards.

TE Chris Baker, Rec: 4 - 50 - 1 (6 targets)

Baker had a good game as he caught a lot of passes in the middle of the field and broke tackles to gain extra yards, and caught a touchdown pass on a play action pass on the goal line.

TE Sean Ryan, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Ryan was targeted once in the passing game and was able to make the catch for a minimal gain.

PK Mike Nugent 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points

Nugent was perfect, converting a 24 yard field goal and five extra points.

NYJ Rush Defense

The rush defense was the weak point for the Jets, allowing Ahman Green to gain 102 yards rushing. The Packers were able to run the ball and get many first downs and pick up a lot of yards on first or second down, which helped them to convert more third downs later in the series.

NYJ Pass Defense

The Jets’ pass defense did a great job against Brett Favre and the Packers today, causing a fumble and two interceptions from Favre. They also only allowed 168 yards on 38 attempts to the Packers’ offense.

QB Brett Favre, Pass: 24 - 47 - 214 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 33 - 0

Favre struggled against the Jets because he was not able to find an open receiver down the field, and most of his completions were short dump off passes and this was reflected in his first half stats because he only had six completions for 45 yards. The second half was a different story for Favre, he lead his team to a ten point third quarter including a 20 yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver. Favre favored Driver the most today, targeting him 12 times. Favre seemed to be more willing to throw his passes to his wide receivers, regardless of the coverage and it paid off as he was able to drive his team down the field and get them back in the game. Favre finished the day with 214 yards but was also intercepted twice.

RB Ahman Green, Rush: 14 - 102 - 0, Rec: 4 - 38 - 0 (5 targets)

While the passing game struggled, Ahman Green was one of the few bright stars for the Packers as he was able to find large holes in the Jets’ defense, including a run where he went right up the middle and scampered for 35 yards. Green also had a great second half where he was able to eclipse the 100 yard rushing mark on the ground and finished the day with 102 yards.

RB Vernand Morency, Rush: 6 - 14 - 0, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (4 targets)

Morency was used mostly to spell Ahman Green, and got the job done by getting the short yardage first downs and converted a couple of third downs for first downs. Morency was also active in the passing game, catching three passes for 39 yards and finished the day with 14 yards rushing

RB Noah Herron, Rec: 7 - 51 - 0 (8 targets)

Herron did not see any carries, but he was able to catch seven of his eight targets for a total of 51 yards.

RB William Henderson (1 targets)

Henderson was targeted once in the passing game but it was incomplete.

WR Donald Driver, Rec: 3 - 41 - 1 (12 targets)

Driver had a tough time getting open, however in the second half things started to improve for him. Even though Driver was heavily covered, it did not stop Favre from trying to force the ball to Driver especially on deep passes. This did eventually pay off for Driver and the Packers as Favre forced a ball into Driver when he was heavily covered, but Driver was able to come down with the pass for a 20 yard touchdown. Driver finished the day with 41 yards.

WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (4 targets)

Jennings was the first wide receiver to catch a pass today, and even while the Packers were forced to pass throughout the second half Jennings was not very effective.

WR Chris Francies, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets)

Francies caught one pass for four yards on three pass targets.

TE Bubba Franks, Rec: 3 - 18 - 0 (3 targets)

Franks caught all three of his targets in the game for a total of 18 yards.

PK Dave Rayner 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Rayner was one for two on field goals, as he was able to convert a 34 yard field goal but missed a 40 yard field goal. He was also able to convert his extra point attempts.

GB Rush Defense

The rushing defense of the Packers did not have a good day, allowing three touchdowns and over 100 yards to running back Cedric Houston.

GB Pass Defense

The Packers’ pass defense was able to intercept Chad Pennington two times, although this was when the game was all but out of reach. When the game was still close, the passing defense was getting picked apart by the Jets and allowed over 260 yards and two touchdowns