After re-watching the game, 11 "hidden" plays that had a very big impact

Promoted to the front page by David Wyatt.

In this case, "hidden" refers to plays that won't show up on a standard highlight reel, yet had a big impact on the outcome of the game. I posted this already on a Jets message board and people seemed to like it, so I decided to share with more Jet fans. I bolded the plays that struck me as particularly important. I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and additional comments.

1. 4th and 23, 12:03 remaining. On a very short punt, Cotchery let the ball bounce at the 42 yard line, where it rolled to the 26. Without even factoring in possible returns, his failure to run up to catch the ball cost the Jets 16 yards and good starting field position.

2. 3rd and 15, 6:56 remaining. (1Q) On a delayed out route, Sproles had a step on Coleman, and it appeared that after making the catch, Sproles would be able to get by Coleman and likely get the first down.  A late Coleman shove, however, combined with the poor footing on the field, led to Sproles falling down, and Kaeding missing a field goal on the next play.

3. 3rd and 4, :59 remaining. (1Q) With the Bolts on the edge of scoring territory, Legedu Naanee ran an option route, which is nearly indefensible one-on-one. I say nearly, because of Darrelle Revis. Revis made a great play here to knock the ball down, and force the Chargers to punt.

4. 3rd and 10, 9:54 remaining. (2Q) From the SD 38, Gates caught a pass three yards short of the first down, spun away from Bryan Thomas, and appeared to have a clear path to the first down and a full head of steam.  Great hustle by David Harris, and a great tackle by Kerry Rhodes, however, combined to keep Gates from getting the first down. When you consider that Gates had his forward momentum, and that he outweighs Rhodes by at least 30 pounds, it is even more impressive that Rhodes was able to completely stop Gates’ forward momentum. This play forced a punt, when a 2nd consecutive scoring drive would have been devastating.

5. 3rd and 5, 11: 36 remaining. (3Q) Sanchez nearly airmails a very easy throw to Keller, forcing to Keller to extend his entire body to make the catch, which stops him from being able to turn and run. A better throw likely would have enabled Keller to get the first down, but fortunately for us, Feely was able to make a difficult kick. You can also argue that Keller needs to run that route a foot deeper, to get to the first down marker.

6. 3rd and 8, 9:54 remaining. (3Q) This was one of the few plays where the Chargers attempted a true "jump ball," and they had the perfect matchup. Malcolm Floyd is at least 6 inches taller than Donald Strickland, yet Strickland somehow was able to get to the ball at its highest point and knock it away from Floyd. This was a huge stop, as it allowed the defense to continue its momentum from the first half, and give the offense the ball immediately after it had scored.

7. 2nd and 9, 5:23 remaining. (3Q) With the Chargers driving, and appearing on the verge of taking advantage of Sanchez’s INT, Thomas made an incredible mid-play adjustment here. If you watch the replay, you can see Thomas chip Hester, the fullback, then turn and head toward the QB. All of a sudden, however, he stops and either anticipates the play or reads Rivers eyes, and makes a great tackle of LT as soon as he catches the ball. Thomas’ play was so important because the Chargers linemen actually had good downfield blocking, and LT likely would have gotten a first down. Because he didn’t the Chargers were left with a 3rd and 8, and were forced to attack Revis, which resulted in an interception on the next play.

8. 3rd and 10, 3:00 remaining. (3Q) On this third and long play, Sanchez made a perfect throw to Cotchery to pick up the first down. Although the play looked routine, the deep out throw that Sanchez made is one of the hardest in a QB’s repertoire, and Sanchez made it look effortless, and put the throw right where it needed to be. In addition to being a great throw, it gave the offense the yards necessary to allow Weatherford’s eventual punt to be downed at the 2, which likely contributed to Leonhard’s INT.

9. 4th and 23, 9:35 remaining. (4Q) Although Cotchery had a very nice punt return here, that wasn’t what made this play so important. If you watch the play, you will see Kassim Osgood close on Cotchery from behind, and club the ball as hard as possible without Cotchery seeing him. This was the exact same play we saw in the BAL-IND game when Pierre Garcon stripped Ed Reed, and this type of play almost always leads to a fumble. Fortunately for the Jets, a combination of good luck and strong hands allowed Cotchery to retain possession, because a fumble would have been absolutely devastating, as it would have likely given the Chargers possession around the NYJ 30. Because Cotch held on to the ball, the Jets were able to score on Greene’s awesome TD run a few minutes later.

10. 3rd and 4, 8:05 remaining. (4Q) On what I thought was Sanchez’s second best play of the day, (after the TD) he made a perfect back shoulder throw, threading the needle through the zone. Not surprisingly, Cotchery made a difficult catch look easy, and with the first down the Jets were able to kill another 40 seconds before Greene’s incredible TD run.


Also, a side note about Greene’s run. While the run itself was an awesome combo of speed and power, one pre-snap play helped this play to succeed. For some reason, Wallace Wright was in at WR, and he made a great cut block which held up both Merriman AND Cromartie. Without that initial block, the initial hole wouldn’t have been nearly as big, if it was there at all.

 

 

 

 

11. 3rd and 5, 5:17 remaining. (4Q) With the Jets once again sending a heavy blitz and generating quick pressure on Rivers, Rivers was forced to dump the ball quickly to Malcolm Floyd, who was being covered by Dwight Lowery, who is half a foot shorter and fifty pounds lighter than Floyd. Despite the physical disadvantages, however, Lowery timed his hit perfectly to avoid pass interference, and was able to completely stop Floyd’s forward progress, and bring him down a yard and a half short of the first down. Instead of getting a first down, the Chargers were forced to attempt a field goal, and we all know how that went.