This is what the Jets, and Robby Anderson, had in mind for Robby Anderson all along.
Big plays. Game-changing plays. Difference-making plays. Momentum busters.
It’s just that the numbers were not supporting the plan. Anderson entered Sunday’s Jets scintillating 24-22 win over the Cowboys with 11 quiet receptions for 131 quiet yards and no touchdowns in four games. Those are not game-changing numbers.
But there were the Jets at MetLife Stadium, where there were an annoying number of vociferous Cowboys fans, with a chance to change the game with a big play on offense after four games of dormant offense.
The Jets were already up 7-3 — the first time they had a lead since Week 1 — and their defense had just stuffed Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-2 from the Jets’ 7-yard line late in the first half.
On the very next play, Sam Darnold lofted a majestic pass in the direction of the speedster Anderson, who left Cowboys cornerback Chidobe Awuzie so far behind him it looked like Awuzie was chasing the 4 Train pulling out of the subway station without him.
As the ball settled into Anderson’s arms around midfield, Dallas safety Jeff Heath made a futile last-ditch dive at the receiver’s thin ankles as Anderson cruised into the end zone untouched for a 92-yard touchdown catch-and-run and a 14-3 lead.
It was a stunning turn of momentum for the Jets, who in the previous three weeks simply had not felt any sort of electrical jolt like that on offense.
“That was a big spark for us,’’ Anderson said. “I felt like that play gave everybody energy and it changed a lot of momentum.’’
Coach Adam Gase and the entire team had been starved for a play like this.
“We ain’t had one of those all year,’’ left tackle Kelvin Beachum said. “It was an amazing feeling. Momentum changes, and it changes fast.’’
Said Gase: “I could see Robby was giving me that look like, ‘You better call something deep pretty soon.’ I felt like it was the right time.’’
The moment felt liberating for a offense that, with Darnold missing the past three games with mononucleosis, had been noncompetitive, scoring one touchdown in that span.
Suddenly, after the fourth-down stop and the explosive touchdown, it felt like the awakening of a season that had overslept by a month at MetLife Stadium.
Anderson said he “knew” the play was coming “because we saw something earlier in the game, [Awuzie] was sitting [on] it, and we knew we were going to get to it.
“It was just about timing, a good play call and good execution … and the rest is history.”
Darnold’s eyes widened when he saw Awuzie bite on Anderson’s move and Heath bite on the run fake.
“Robby’s one of the best, if not the best in the NFL, at tracking the ball in the air, and I knew I just had to put it out there in his vicinity and he would go catch it,’’ Darnold said. “It was awesome.’’
Anderson, who finished with five catches for 125 yards and the touchdown, was the catalyst to this win. He sent a jolt of electricity surging through the entire team.
“Hopefully,’’ Anderson said, “it was a turning point to our season.’’