The New York Jets played pretty well today but only in the final 15 minutes. The last quarter comeback attempt came short, as the Gang Green fell to the Baltimore Ravens, 13-20.
QB Kellen Clemens took the first start of his NFL career in place of injured QB Chad Pennington and was picked off on his second pass. Later in the first quarter Baltimore sustained their first long drive of the game and took a 7-0 lead.
As the second quarter began, the Jets got on the board with a 50-yard field goal, 7-3. Baltimore, however, instantly replied with a field goal of their own, making the score 10-3. As the quarter was coming to an end, the Ravens scored another touchdown. Following a missed 52-yard attempt by Jets PK Mike Nugent, the Ravens drove 57 yards in 12 plays and extended their lead to 17-3.
The game seemed to be all but over in the final quarter when Baltimore scored another field goal, 20-3. That’s when first time starter Kellen Clemens finally figured the opposing defense and stopped playing like a rookie. Clemens led the Gang Green 68 yards down the field only to come up short at the 3-yard line. The Jets settled for a field goal but it was pretty obvious that New York’s offense was on a roll at that point, 20-6. The defense quickly got the ball back and this time Clemens wasn’t going to fail at the Ravens’ 3-yard line – a beautiful pass to TE Chris Baker cut the lead to 20-13.
With less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter the Jets’ started their final drive of the game and did they come close to tying it up! First, Clemens connected with WR Jerricho Cotchery on a 50-yard completion that put the Jets on the Ravens’ 30-yard line. Then, two plays later Clemens threw a perfect pass to wide open WR Justin McCareins who just dropped a sure touchdown catch. Despite the setback Clemens completed a third and long to WR Laveranues Coles and put the Gang Green inside Baltimore’s 10-yard line. The Jets had plenty of time to score but Clemens’ pass to McCareins glanced off wide receiver’s hands and right into the hands of Baltimore’s LB Ray Lewis.
QB Kellen Clemens finished the game 19 out of 37 for 260 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. RB Thomas Jones gained 67 yards on 24 carries. WR Jerricho Cotchery had an outstanding game – 7 receptions for 165 yards. The offensive line struggled for the most part of the game, giving up 4 sacks and allowing numerous pressures on Clemens.
The defense struggled at the line of scrimmage just like last week. Once again they failed to put the pressure on the quarterback and produce even a single sack. CB David Barrett had the team best 10 tackles (9 solo). LB Jonathan Vilma also recorded 10 tackles (7 solo). Rookie CB Darrelle Revis had another solid game – 6 tackles (5 solo) and 2 pass defenses.
Next Sunday the Jets will host their division rivals, the Miami Dolphins. The kickoff is at 1:00PM EST.