QB Chad Pennington was 10 for 11, which included a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Baker, as the New York Jets easily cruised to a 31-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jets' starting quaterback looked poised and in complete command of the offense that seemed to be almost ready for regular season. Pennington didn't seem to have any problems handling the pressure and constantly finding open receivers, which is even more impressive, considering that WR Santana Moss and WR Wayne Chrebet did not dress up for this game. On the first play of the second quarter Pennington connected with WR Jonathan Carter on a 65-yard bomb that set up Chris Baker's touchdown. On the ensuing play Pennington found WR Justin McCareins in the end zone, as the Jets converted their 2-point attempt and took a 8-0 lead.
The running game, however, was a different story. Starting RB Curtis Martin rushed for just 22 yards on 7 attempts and fumbled once. RB Johnathan Reese gained 26 yards on 6 carries, playing against the Colts' backups. RB LaMont Jordan, who's still in Herman Edwards' doghouse, ran for 18 yards on 6 carries. Jordan had a chance to score in the third quarter but got stuffed for no gain on the Colts' 2-yard line.
Backup QB Ricky Ray continued to struggle, completing 7 out of 8 passes for only 53 yards, and 1 interception. His quarterback rating was a lowly 54.7. Paul Hackett, however, probably still thinks that the Jets' backup quarterbacks are just fine.
On the defensive side we saw some of the flows we were witnessing the entire last season. This team still can't stop the run and they still don't know how to tackle. Indy's starting RB Edgerrin James gained 62 yards on 12 carries, four of which were for first downs. The Jets looked much better in pass coverage, limiting Peyton Manning to only 6 out of 8, 85 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
DE John Abraham was the star of this game on the defensive front. Abraham recorded one sack, forced one fumble, and recovered two. Rookie CB Roderick Bryant led the team with 6 tackles (5 solo) and made an impressive pass defense in the first quarter. FS Jon McGraw had his second good game in a row. This time he had two tackles and a spectacular pass defense, which unfortunately resulted in an injury to a Colts' WR. Former first round pick DE Bryan Thomas finally showed some flashes, as he recorded 4 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 sacks and one pass defense.
On special teams PK Doug Brien was a perfect 3 out of 3 on field goal attempts. RB Ian Smart finally showed us why the Jets invited him to training camp for the second year in a row when he broke through and scored on a 59-yard punt return.
Next Friday the Jets will take on their crosstown rivals New York Giants. The third preseason game is where teams usually allow their starters the most playing time and give us a pretty good idea of who we're going to see on the opening day.