Jets 23 49ers 17 (Overtime): Comeback by the Bay

The Jets rallied from 14 points down in the second half to beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in overtime today. Was it pretty? No. Was it a quality opponent? No. This team hasn’t had many positives this season, though. The Jets got a win and some good vibes to begin the final quarter of the season. Let’s talk about what happened below.

The Good

Bryce Petty: There were points, particularly early, where it was ugly. His first pass was an interception about as ugly as you will ever see. Too frequently when his first read wasn’t there, he would double clutch and panic. Petty showed a lot of moxie, though. He shook off that rough start and hit some big passes when the Jets needed them. None was better than a brilliant scramble and throw to Robby Anderson to set up the winning touchdown. He also had a tough run to score a big two point conversion in the fourth quarter. Have the Jets found their franchise quarterback? We can’t say that after one game. Given the circumstances, I think you have to be pretty happy. In his second career start, Petty shook off some early struggles and led a comeback win.

Bilal Powell: I don’t know why it took Matt Forte getting hurt for him to get his chance to be the lead back, but Powell looked superb, putting up a monster 145 yard, 2 touchdown game on the ground. He looked very good creating yardage even when the run blocking wasn’t great.

Robby Anderson: As the season has progressed, Anderson has become more and more of a factor. Today was his finest effort. He had 6 catches for 99 yards, including a pair of brilliant catches in traffic to set up important scores. All you can ask for out of an undrafted rookie is that he gets better as the season goes along, and Anderson is peaking at the right time. It will be exciting to see what the offseason program can do for him.

Nick Folk: Chip shots in big spots are nice. 50 yarders with the game on the line are clutch. Folk’s kick was clutch today.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins: He had 3 catches, which is an offensive explosion by Jets tight end standards.

Juston Burris: He had a big tackle in space, played quality coverage, and held up when the 49ers went after him.

Darrelle Revis: This was the rare quiet afternoon for him in 2016.

The Bad

Front Seven: You have to give these guys credit for coming to life late in the game and making some big stops, but when you give up 141 yards to a back in the first half of a game, it is going to be a negative under any circumstances. The edge setters in particular struggled to contain on the outside runs. I’m looking at you, Mike Catapano.

Buster Skrine: Skrine unfortunately left the game with an injury, but it was a rough one for him when he was in there. He started the game being dragged into the end zone for a touchdown and was beaten clean a few other times.

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Let’s be honest. The Jets are 4-9. One of those wins was against winless Cleveland. Another has now come against one win San Francisco. Today’s effort was the type that could only beat a team of that caliber.

It sure beats the outcomes we have seen for the rest of the season. At the very least, we have some positives to take from some of the youngsters.