


Gameday Recap: Jets 27, Chargers 24 (OT)
The right leg of Nick Folk ties it to end regulation, then wins it in overtime
Nick Folk strikes the game winning 26 yard field goal with under two minutes left in overtime, after he had tied it with a 38 yarder as time expired in regulation, and after LA's Dan Carpenter missed a field goal on the first drive of OT.
It didn’t take an idiot to see this coming. Practicing all week at a field that lacked uprights, it’s only fitting that this game would come down the Jets kicker. That’s right, folks. Nick Folk, who relied on a kicking net all week, not practicing actual field goals until on the field before the game, made two after being iced by Mike McCoy’s timeout calls, one to tie, and one to win. That’s the definition of clutch, especially for a guy who made less than 60% of his field goals a year ago. If he wasn’t a kicker, I’d put him up for Comeback Player of the Year. He’s missed only two field goals and one extra point all season. That’s how you get it done. To be fair, though, the Jets shouldn’t have even been in this position. Mariota threw three picks, but not a single one was his fault. All three were absolute BS, hitting off, or even being caught by Jets players only to be knocked away and tripped around, before being eaten up by Chargers. The last of the three was converted into a pick six that gave Los Angeles the lead. And then, after going back and forth with touchdowns, Todd Gurley tore his shoulder on a kick return. He’ll be down for a month, right in the midst of the toughest part of the schedule.
The Jets defense played another fantastic game. Don’t let the score fool you. They pitched a shutout in the first half, completely taming the monster that is Philip Rivers. On the first two Chargers possessions, the Jets got off the field on third down because of two HUGE sacks from Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson. But, the offense had a couple of missed opportunities, which really sucked, because the Chargers couldn’t do anything to stop the Jets. On the first Jets’ possession of the day, in field goal range, Todd Gurley fumbled, recovered by Melvin Ingram. Then, after a beautiful drive capped off by a 1 yard touchdown pass to fullback Dakota Ball, Vincent Jackson, playing against his old team for the second year in a row, caught a pass in field goal range, before hits from Denzel Perryman and Malik Hooker popped the ball up in the air, where it was caught by Rasul Douglas for the first of those three cheesy interceptions. It was still 7-0 when the Jets got the ball back, with an opportunity to get points before the break. They were in field goal range, but it was a long field goal, and even though they had the wind at their back, Todd Bowles wanted a touchdown. He went for it on 4th and 4, and Mariota found Jace Amaro who fought for just enough yardage to move the sticks. With just a couple of ticks left on the clock in the first half, it was Devin Smith even more fighting, dragging multiple Chargers with him to the goal line, and scoring to make it 14-0 Jets.
If you ask me, the ball never crossed the plane on Devin Smith's touchdown reception, but it wasn't reviewed, so I'll take it.
Like usual, the Jets got the ball first in the second half, and this time, they wanted to enforce their will, and maybe put the game out of reach. But, the Chargers stepped up on stopped the run, after Gurley had run wild on them in the first half. Joey Bosa put Brian Winters on his back, getting Gurley for a loss on third down, forcing the first Jets punt of the afternoon. It turns out that that was the only spark the LA offense needed to get going. Rivers started by finding Keenan Allen through a hole in the Jets’ coverage, then did the same thing on the next play with Brian Quick. Before you knew it, Brandon Oliver got the home team on the board by walking into the end zone untouched from three yards out. On the next drive, Mariota threw a pass off the elbow of Jace Amaro, and it was picked off by Denzel Perryman. A goal line stand at the half yard line forced Mike McCoy to settle for an 18 yard field goal from his kicker, Dan Carpenter. That 14-10 Jets lead survived into the start of the 4th quarter, but very soon after, Mariota threw his third BS interception. On third and reasonable, Mariota had Jace Amaro running wide open on an in route, but before he could throw, a plethora of Chargers gained on him. It was Craig Mager that actually provided the hit as Mariota released it. The ball fluttered straight up into the air, and Joey Bosa just had to move out of harm’s way to let Denzel Perryman snag his second INT of the game. Since Perryman caught it in the offensive backfield, he had a clear path to the end zone. When he crossed the plane, the Chargers had their first lead of the game, and had scored 17 unanswered points.
Craig Mager comes in with the blind side hit on Mariota, while Joey Bosa (99) and Denzel Perryman (52) eagerly wait for the ball to come down. It was Perryman taking it to the house instead of the second year defensive from Ohio State, but regardless, it gave the Chargers their first lead of the game. You can see Jace Amaro, Mariota's intended target, running open across the middle of the field.
But, the Jets weren’t done. Mariota, knowing and understanding that those three turnovers weren’t his fault, led a calm and collected drive. He really aired it out in the fourth quarter, finishing with far more pass attempts than he’s ever had as a member of the Jets. On this drive, he picked his way down the field methodically, taking what the Chargers were giving him, before turning to Gurley once they reached the red zone. It took a fantastic catch by Mike Williams on third down to get them there, but once they were there, Gurley took care of the rest, diving head first through the offensive line to get the Jets back on top 21-17, with 2:51 to play. Now, if only they could hold it.
Looks like an MVP caliber play to me. Todd Gurley dives head first across the goal line to give the Jets the lead late in the 4th quarter. Too bad he got hurt. Now, he probably won't win MVP, because he's going to miss 4 games.
With a huge sack of Philip Rivers by David Harris at the two minute warning, dialed up on a beautiful blitz call by Todd Bowles, the Chargers’ hopes looked bleak. It was 3rd and 22 after all. But, after a sideline pass to Branden Oliver, Rivers’ chucked it down field on 4th down, finding Brian Quick, but only because Marcus Williams overran the coverage. You see, Rivers underthrew quick, so Williams, in coverage, had to come back to the ball, and he just overran the ball, leaving Quick wide open. Three plays later, Marcus Gilchrist made a diving attempt to bat the ball down, but he just missed, and Hunter Henry secured it for a touchdown. Los Angeles had the lead back, 24-21, with under a minute to play. But, everything was just getting good. When you have Jim Nantz on his toes up in the broadcast booth, you know you’re doing something right.
Hunter Henry waits patiently in the back of the end zone while Marcus Gilchrist just misses the ball, laying out completely in an attempt to swat it away.
That was the kick return when Todd Gurley hurt himself. All he did was get pushed in the shoulder trying to go out of bounds. I don’t know how that makes him miss a month, but hey, I’m no doctor. So, with 45 seconds and all three timeouts, the Jets had to go at least 40 yards to be in comfortable field goal range for Nick Folk. And, right off the bat, the Jets find themselves with a 4th and 4 in their own territory. A clutch Kenbrell Thompkins catch while being drilled saved the day, for now. It took a couple clutch catches, from Jace Amaro and Devin Smith, for the Jets to be in field goal range. But, once they were, with 10 seconds left and one timeout, the Jets wanted to get a little closer, just to ensure that Folk would knock it through. An outlet pass to Matt Forte gained 12 yards. The Jets were ready to call that timeout, but Forte saved them the trouble by heading out of bounds. So, on came Folk, ready to attempt a game-tying 38 yard field goal, but not surprisingly, Mike McCoy called timeout. And so Todd Bowles and Sam Freday, up in his suite, started to shake. So did RoundingThird, who had to line up the kick, and press the A button three times, with the controller vibrating, and the crowd going bonkers. All of those distractions were almost enough. Almost. Folk’s kicked sneaked just inside the left upright, inches, nay centimeters, away from hitting the crossbar and bouncing in Lord knows what direction. But it was good, and we were going to overtime.
The Jets loss the coin toss, giving LA the ball first. Philip Rivers quickly got a couple of first downs through the air, before the Jets bore down. Why were they able to bear down? The Chargers decided it was a good idea to run the ball, which the Jets had shut down all day. A first down carry from Oliver gained two, then a sideline pass to Henry made it 3rd and 1. The Chargers were and field goal range, but it was long, and the Jets wanted to get off the field now, or risk losing the ballgame with a Los Angeles touchdown. Coach Bowles called an all-out run blitz, sending in 8 of the 11 men on the field. Darron Lee and Leonard Williams got Oliver instantly, but the small powerback tried as hard as he could to get away. The rest of the Jets gathered very quickly, and finally brought him down inches short of the first down. Carpenter came out to attempt a 57 yard field goal, but Bowles called timeout. It was his turn to try to ice the kicker. The second time around, the kick was plenty long enough, but it was WIDE LEFT!!!! No good! No good! No good! All the Jets needed to do was score, and the ballgame was theirs. Mariota handed it off to Matt Forte a couple times, threw one or two more passes for good measure, and Nick Folk came out for a much shorter attempt than his first clutch field goal. McCoy tried to ice him again, but this one was from too close of a range to screw up, and as soon as it went through, right down the middle, the Jets’ bench stormed the field. It was party time. That’s right, we’re 7-3, and looking good! In a playoff atmosphere, with a playoff crowd, and a national TV audience, the New York Jets showed that they are playoff ready. Now if only we can get there. Next week? The best team in the NFC comes to town, the Carolina Panthers. Then, it’s a road trip to Foxboro against the red-hot Patriots, who haven’t lost since the Jets smoked them in October. After that, the Jets play the best team in the AFC, and the NFL, the one loss Kansas City Chiefs, in East Rutherford. Let’s do it. This is the final push.
New York Jets at Los Angeles Chargers | ||||||
Nov 19, 2017 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
New York Jets (7-3) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 27 |
Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
Team Stats Comparison | ||
NYJ | LAC | |
Total Offense | 481 | 286 |
Rushing Yards | 178 | 52 |
Passing Yards | 303 | 234 |
First Downs | 30 | 14 |
Punt Return Yards | 16 | 0 |
Kick Return Yards | 128 | 36 |
Total Yards | 625 | 322 |
Turnovers | 4 | 0 |
3rd Down Converstion | 9-15 (60%) | 4-10 (40%) |
4th Down Conversion | 2-2 | 0-0 |
2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 6-3-1 (67%) | 3-2-1 (100%) |
Penalties | 0-0 | 1-5 |
Posession Time | 36:10 | 21:56 |
Scoring Summary | |||
SECOND QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | LAC | |
11:19 | (NYJ) D. Ball 1 yard pass from M. Mariota (N. Folk kick) | 7 | 0 |
0:12 | (NYJ) D. Smith 10 yard pass from M. Mariota (N. Folk kick) | 14 | 0 |
THIRD QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | LAC | |
5:13 | (LAC) B. Oliver 3 yard run (D. Carpenter kick) | 14 | 7 |
0:00 | (LAC) D. Carpenter 18 yard FG | 14 | 10 |
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | LAC | |
9:13 | (LAC) D. Perryman 54 yard interception return (D. Carpenter kick) | 14 | 17 |
2:51 | (NYJ) T. Gurley II 2 yard run (N. Folk kick) | 21 | 17 |
0:48 | (LAC) H. Henry 4 yard pass from P. Rivers (D. Carpenter kick) | 21 | 24 |
0:00 | (NYJ) N. Folk 38 yard FG | 24 | 24 |
OVERTIME SCORING | NYJ | LAC | |
1:54 | (NYJ) N. Folk 26 yard FG | 27 | 24 |
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New York Jets 2017 Schedule | ||||
DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT | ||
Sep 10 | vs Atlanta Falcons | Lost, 30-20 | ||
Sep 17 | at Miami Dolphins | Lost, 27-20 | ||
Sep 25 | vs Tennessee Titans (MNF) | Won, 45-10 | ||
Oct 8 | vs New England Patriots | Won, 37-12 | ||
Oct 15 | vs Oakland Raiders (SNF) | Won, 39-29 | ||
Oct 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Won, 38-27 | ||
Oct 29 | vs Miami Dolphins | Won, 37-13 | ||
Nov 5 | at Buffalo Bills | Lost, 31-17 | ||
Nov 12 | at Denver Broncos | Won, 40-9 | ||
Nov 19 | at Los Angeles Chargers | Won, 27-24 (OT) | ||
Nov 26 | vs Carolina Panthers | |||
Dec 4 | at New England Patriots (MNF) | |||
Dec 10 | vs Kansas City Chiefs | |||
Dec 17 | vs Buffalo Bills | |||
Dec 24 | at New Orleans Saints (SNF) | |||
Dec 31 | at Baltimore Ravens (SNF) |
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