Debbie’s Dynamic 2011 Top 5 Jets Moments: Number 3

As I sat and thought about the number 3, I knew exactly what game I felt it came from.

Now in case you missed it, look back on Moment 4 and Moment 5

Now as we get to the third moment, I knew which game I was targeting it from but when I think back to the game, I ended up realizing this moment really has two parts and I can’t not talk about one with out the other… cue the Married With Children theme … Anyway, so in the words of Good Morning America’s Josh Elliot, I’m about to give you a bofor moment and they come from the San Diego game. So here’s the number 3 moment of the 2011 season.

17 + 24= Jets Win

October 23, 2011: The Jets came back to MetLife Stadium sporting a 3-3 record after a tough road trip, going 1-3 on the road trip and they needed a spark at home. They were coming off a win down on South Beach and they had a lot to prove as they had the bye week on the horizon. Especially, the Jets tall wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Burress was acquired to give Mark Sanchez a big target and help out in the red zone. Coming into the San Diego game, Burress hadn’t scored a touchdown since the the first game of that road trip in Oakland. and at that point, it was only the second touchdown for No. 17 of the season. So to say, that he needed a big game in the red zone is a bit of an understatement.

For the game, Burress had four catches for only 25 yards and was targeted eight times by Sanchez, but Burress made the most of his opportunities. It took to the second quarter for the two to connect in the end zone but Sanchez found his tall wide out in the back of the end zone for 3-yards. Then again in the third quarter on a 4-yard catch.

However, in order for the Jets offense to be in a position for Sanchez and Burress to hook up for the trifecta, Gang Green’s defense

needed to make a play.

Going into the fourth quarter of the game, the Jets were down 21-17 and the Chargers were on the move. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers started the drive on the San Diego 23-yard line went 2 for 4 for 39 yards in the air and then they ran 13 yards on the ground. So Rivers, on the Jets 25-yard line, drops back in the shotgun to pass to Vincent Jackson and in a matchup reminiscent of the 2009 playoffs (not as superman-like as that) but all world Darrelle Revis picks off Rivers and runs it back 64 yards to the San Diego 19.

So there was Gang Green, with 10:56 left in the game, knocking on the door of taking the lead.

Shonn Greene took the Jets to 9 then on the next run was knocked back two yards and injured on that play.

Then with two Sanchez’s two incompletions with a Takeo Spikes penalty sandwiched in the middle.

After a third run play from Greene, Sanchez found number 17 on the slant with the go-ahead score, which turned out to be the game-winning score. It was Burress’s first three-touchdown game since 2007 with the Jets in stadium neighbors.

And then Nick Folk put up a 30-yard field goal to put the game away for Gang Green with 1:40 left to seal the win.

Now do you see why I had to give you two for the price of one? Burress had a great game but in order to win, the team needed both Number 17 and Number 24 in order to win the game.