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| ARI at WAS | CAR at MIN | CIN at NYG | CLE at BAL | DAL at GB | DET at SF | HOU at TEN | JAX at IND |
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Week 3 Game Recap: New York Jets 29, San Diego Chargers 48
What you need to know
| New York Jets |
QB Brett Favre had a very nice game statistically as the Jets fell behind in the second half and were forced to pass with four wide receivers sets most the second half. He ended up with three passing touchdowns in the game, and two of those came in the fourth quarter as the Jets made a desperate attempt to get back into the game. Despite the good offensive numbers, Favre did not play well. He and his receivers often did not look like they were on the same page and he did throw two costly interceptions in the game, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
RB Thomas Jones and the Jets running game did very little in this matchup. It didn't help that the Jets were down big most the game and were forced to abandon the running game in the second half. He also had a costly fumble in the first half that led to a Chargers' touchdown. Jones only had ten carries for 37 yards in the game.
WR Laveranues Coles had a pretty good game with six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Coles did make the Jets' biggest play of the game on a 41 yard catch down the middle of the field late in the game. WR Jerricho Cotchery had a nice game with ten catches, but most of those came on short passes as he only had 76 yards receiving and did not have a catch longer then 14 yards.
| San Diego Chargers |
QB Phillip Rivers' night got off to ominous start as his first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. But Rivers would come back and play very well after that initial pass and would throw three touchdowns in the first half. The Jets were unable to get much pressure on Rivers through most of the game and he was able move the ball almost at will against the Jets defense. Rivers almost had a fourth touchdown late in the game as he hit WR Vincent Jackson on a perfectly thrown pass deep down the right sideline, but Jackson was tackled on the one yard line.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson came into this game nursing an injured right toe and he did not look like his usual explosive self, as he averaged less then three yards a carry. But he did see plenty of carries in the game as he had 26 touches and did get his first touchdowns of the year with two goal line scores in the second half. Probably the biggest positive was that he was able to play the entire game and carry a full load of work in this game.
WR Chris Chambers had only one catch in the game, but it was a 27 yard touchdown reception in the first half. TE Antonio Gates caught two passes for 25 yards, including a nice six yard reception for a touchdown in the first half. WR Vincent Jackson was the Chargers' leading receiver with three catches for 74 yards, including a 60 yard reception where he was tackled on the one yard line.
What you ought to know
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 30 - 42 - 271 - 3 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 |
Favre found WR Laveranues Coles in the back of the end zone for a three yard touchdown in the second quarter for his touchdown of the game. He had two interceptions in the first half and it seemed that on several plays he and his receivers were not on the same page. He was ten for 16 for 70 yards in the first half but would have a much better half statistically in the second half. The Jets didn't do a very good job of protecting Favre in the first half as the Chargers got good pressure on him and didn't allow time to throw to his receivers deep down the field. Favre was able to pad his stats in the second half as the Jets fell well behind in the game and they had to go to four wide receiver sets the rest of the game. He found WR Chansi Stuckey in the end zone for a third consecutive week early in the fourth quarter for his second touchdown of the game. He would throw for his third touchdown late in the game on a 13 yard pass to TE Dustin Keller. Favre had over 200 yards passing in the second half, but despite the nice statistical numbers he did not look his sharpest and it's clear that Favre and his receivers still need time to gel..
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 10 - 37 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jones only had six carries for 22 yards as the Jets struggled to get into a rhythm on offense and sustain drives in the first half. Things did not get any better for Jones in the second half as the Jets fell behind and had to abandon the rushing game. Jones did run hard in limited action, but did have a costly fumble in the first half.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) |
Washington had a 94 yard kick return and almost scored, but was tackled on the three yard line in the second quarter. He had only one carry in the game and had two catches for 20 yards.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 10 - 76 - 0 (12 targets) |
Cotchery had three catches for 19 yards in the first half and did not make much of an impact the first half. In the second half, he was Favre's favorite target as he caught seven passes. He was very effective on the catch and run as most of his receptions were on short passes and he gained most of his yards after the catch. Cotchery was not used much as deep threat in this game as his longest catch was only 14 yards and most of those yards came after the catch.
| WR Laveranues Coles, Rec: 6 - 75 - 1 (8 targets) |
Coles caught a three yard touchdown pass in the second quarter when he got open in the back of the end zone. He had two catches for only seven yards in the first half. Coles caught a big 41 yard pass midway through the fourth quarter as the Jets were attempting make a comeback late in the game. Coles finished with decent numbers, but the timing between QB Brett Favre and his receivers still seem to be a work in progress.
| WR Chansi Stuckey, Rec: 6 - 42 - 1 (5 targets) |
Stuckey did not get a pass thrown his way until the second half when the Jets got behind by a lot and they went to a four receiver set. He caught four yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, his third consecutive game with a touchdown.
| WR Brad Smith (2 targets) |
Smith had no catches in this game, but was on the field for three and four wide receiver sets.
| TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 4 - 41 - 1 (7 targets) |
Keller led the Jets with two catches for 22 yards in the first half. Early in the second half, QB Brett Favre tried to hit Keller deep in the end zone, but he was doubled covered and the pass was broken up. Keller would get his first career touchdown on a 13 yard completion later on in the game. Only Coles and Cotchery were targeted more then Keller in the game.
| TE Chris Baker, Rec: 3 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
Baker had three catches for 26 yards in the game.
| PK Jay Feely 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Feely made his only field goal of the game midway through the fourth quarter with a 32 yard kick.
| NYJ Rush Defense |
The Jets lost DT Kris Jenkins to a back injury in the first quarter clearly missed his ability to clog up the middle. Despite that, they did a pretty good job of containing RB LaDainian Tomlinson and holding him to 67 yards on 26 carries.
| NYJ Pass Defense |
CB David Barrett picked off the Chargers first pass of the game and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. But that would be the only highlight for the pass defense. The Jets did not get much pressure on QB Phillip Rivers throughout the game and gave him too much time to throw.
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 19 - 25 - 250 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - -1 - 0 |
Rivers first pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, but that was the only miscue for what turned out to be a great first half as he threw for three touchdowns in the first half. He hit FB Mike Tolbert on a one yard touchdown pass out in the flat in the first quarter for his first touchdown pass. His second touchdown came when he found a wide open WR Chris Chambers over the middle of the field for a 27 yard play. Rivers third touchdown came on short fade to TE Antonio Gates for a six yard touchdown. He completed ten for 15 for 102 yards in the first half. Rivers looked poised and in control throughout the game as he hit his receivers with precision and made good decisions. More importantly was that he got excellent protection as the Jets struggled to get a pass rush. Rivers almost had a fourth touchdown to WR Vincent Jackson in the second half on a 60 yard completion, but Jackson was tackled on the one yard line.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 26 - 67 - 2, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
Tomlinson did start this game despite dealing with an injured right toe and missing most of practice during the week. The big question coming into this game was how much the injury would limit him and would he able to handle his normal workload in this game? Tomlinson got plenty of carries in the first half as he had 15 carries but he only averaged three yards a rush. He didn't seem to have his usual explosiveness as you have to wonder how much his toe bothered him. He did get his first touchdown of the season by diving into the end zone on a two yard run early in the second half. He would add a second touchdown on another one yard run late in the game after a long WR Vincent Jackson catch. One big positive to be taken was that he played the whole game and one can assume his toe must have felt better this week since he finished with 26 carries. With that said, clearly Tomlinson did not look like his old self and is not hundred percent right now.
| RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 5 - 38 - 0, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (2 targets) |
Sproles only relieved RB LaDainian Tomlinson to give him a breather through out the game as he only had five carries to Tomlinson's 26. But Sproles looked a little more explosive as he averaged over seven yards a carry. He had a nice 21 yard run early in the third quarter and got close to getting into the end zone, but was tackled near the two yard line.
| WR Craig Davis, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (3 targets) |
Davis had a good first quarter catching three passes for 43 yards and all were first down conversions on third downs. He did not catch any more passes in the game.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 3 - 74 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jackson had one catch for nine yards in the first half. Jackson caught a 60 yard pass late in the game, but was tackled on the one yard line.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 1 - 27 - 1 (2 targets) |
Chambers first catch of the game came on a 27 yard touchdown pass. He got wide open over the middle on what looked like a coverage mistake by the defense because no one picked him. It was his only catch of the game. No San Diego receiver had more then four catches as Rivers did a good job of spreading the ball around, but it's a little disconcerting that Chambers only got two targets in the game.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 2 - 25 - 1 (4 targets) |
Gates caught his first pass of the game on a six yard touchdown pass late in the first half. It was his only catch of the first half. He would catch one more pass in the second half for 19 yards.
| PK Nate Kaeding 2 - 2 FG, 6 - 6 XP, 12 points |
Kaeding made a 36 yard field goal in the first quarter and added a 49 yard kick late in the game.
| SD Rush Defense |
The San Diego defense held the Jets to only 41 yards rushing and didn't give RB Thomas Jones many lanes to rush.
| SD Pass Defense |
CB Antonio Cromartie made a nice interception by tipping the ball over WR Laveranues Coles and taking the ball 52 yards the other way for a touchdown. The defense would add another interception later in the game and three sacks.
