Jets 13 – Cardinals 3
TEMPE – You wanted adversity, you got adversity.
Three plays into yesterday’s must-win game against the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium, the Jets, who entered the game in an offensive funk, were down to their third-string quarterback on the road.
Their day – and perhaps their season – lay precariously on the hands of Brooks Bollinger, who’d never taken an NFL regular-season snap.
It didn’t look very good at times – but then much of their season has had an ugly ducking look to it – but the Jets survived, escaping the Arizona desert with a delicious 13-3 win to keep their playoff aspirations well intact.
The Jets flew home with a huge collective sigh of relief with an 8-3 record as they ready for a home game against the 5-6 Houston Texans awaiting Sunday before a potentially brutal final month of the season.
While the Jets and Chargers each got an eighth win yesterday, some of their playoff competition took some big hits, with the Ravens falling to 7-4 with their loss to New England and the Jaguars falling to 6-5 with a loss to the Vikings.
The Jets survived this dangerous game because Bollinger (5-of-9, 60 yards) held his poise marvelously while he was in there, because Curtis Martin was his usual Hall of Fame self (99 yards on 24 carries), because Carter made a nice recovery from the shaky start showing off his long-ball arm, and because the Jets defense is so much better than it has been the last three years.
The Jets clinched the game with their defense.
First, with the Cardinals driving deep in Jets’ territory and the Jets leading by 10, rookie LB Jonathan Vilma picked off a Shaun King pass at the 10-yard line with 12:46 remaining in the game.
Later, on the Cardinals’ next possession, David Barrett, a former Cardinals CB and now a starter for the Jets, stripped Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald of the ball, which was recovered by Vilma with 6:23 remaining in the game.
Barrett would later ice the game when he picked off Cardinals’ backup QB Josh McCown in the end zone with 1:50 remaining in the game.
That allowed Martin to help the Jets run out the clock and the afternoon on the Cardinals.
Earlier, the Jets produced just enough offense for the victory.
They took a 3-0 lead on a Doug Brien 28-yard field goal with 3:28 remaining in the first half.
The Cardinals matched the field goal with a 20-yarder of their own as time ran out on the first half.
The Jets took a 6-3 lead on a 46-yard Brien field goal with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.
A short time later, Carter (8 of 12 for 133 yards) displayed the strong arm that he has when he completed a 69-yard scoring bomb to Santana Moss to give the Jets a breathing-room 13-3 lead with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.
It was a majestic heave by Carter and an even better catch by Moss (5-for-109 yards), who was double covered by Renaldo Hill and Adrian Wilson.
Moss made a nice adjustment to the ball, kept his concentration and caught the ball over his shoulder at the 15-yard line and scampered in from there for the 10-point lead – insurmountable on this day of offensively challenged football.
For Arizona, it didn’t help that Hall of Fame-bound running back Emmitt Smith was lost for the game with a toe injury on his left foot in the second quarter. The Cardinals tried an array of backs but could never get into a rhythm against the improving Jets’ defense.
Eventually, the Jets’ defense chased King from the game when he was replaced by McCown, who fared no better.