Jets Beat Chargers 17-14, Head to Indianapolis for AFC Championship

I’m a believer.

The Jets pulled off an upset in San Diego by beating the Chargers 17-14 and are headed to the AFC Championship where they’ll meet the Colts in Indianapolis. If last week’s win over the Bengals wasn’t convincing enough that the Jets deserved to be in the playoffs, then you better be convinced now after the Jets went into San Diego and beat what most people have been calling the hottest team in football. After winning four in a row and seven of eight, a case can be made that the Jets are now the hottest team in football. 

The field has been narrowed down to four teams and the winners of next week’s championship games go to the Super Bowl. The Jets are focused on Indianapolis, the task at hand for now.

The Jet fan in me is jumping for joy. I doubted my team after they were 4-6 and I doubted them again after they lost to the Falcons in week 15. Since then, everything has fallen in place for the Jets. Everything. Not only has everything fallen in place, but the Jets have done their part to make it worth while. As a Jet fans I’m not used to this. Usually the Jets get the short end of the stick. Rex Ryan has changed that.

Beating the Chargers wasn’t easy and the Jets didn’t get off to a great start. They didn’t get a first down until the second quarter and they were losing the field position battle for most of the first half. The Chargers were picking up the Jets’ blitz well and Rivers was finding wide open targets in the first quarter, but the Jets defense didn’t allow a scoring play until the second quarter, although the Chargers missed a first quarter field goal. The Jets were having problems covering the Chargers big receivers early in the game, but they made adjustments and turned in a sensational performance.

Jets safety Kerry Rhodes had a big game. He recorded a sack and forced fumble on Rivers and he made an excellent play on the Chargers fourth quarter on-side kick attempt. His safety mate, Jim Leonhard, also played a major role in the game picking off Rivers deep in Charger territory, which led to a touchdown. 

The Jets’ defense stuffed San Diego’s running game and were able to force them into third-and-long situations often. San Diego was 4-13 on third downs and that was a big reason why they couldn’t get the ball into the end zone. They also made a lot of mistakes. Other than missing three field goals, they made dumb penalties and played like they were the road team. The Chargers’ mistakes aided the Jets, but you can’t take anything away from what the Jets did. 

This was a signature Jets win. They stuck to the run until they broke one, which came in the fourth quarter when Shonn Greene broke off for a 53-yard touchdown, and they played great defense. Those are chemicals for success in the NFL. The maturation of Mark Sanchez also helps.

The Jets have tuned out the “Same Old Jets” routine and have an opportunity to do something very special. They’ll head to Indianapolis for the AFC Championship game on Sunday.