National Football League
Jets look vulnerable after loss to Bears
National Football League

Jets look vulnerable after loss to Bears

Published Dec. 26, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

The New York Jets had just lost. They were going to get stranded on the road overnight because of a snowstorm back home. And the head coach was still the butt of jokes stemming from the recent discovery of his wife’s foot-fetish videos on the internet.

But just when things couldn’t get much worse Sunday for Rex Ryan, the Washington Redskins did what the Jets couldn’t do themselves: forge a path for New York to reach the playoffs.

Three minutes into Ryan’s gloomy postgame news conference in the bowels of Soldier Field, the sound of cheers erupted from New York’s locker room. The Redskins had just posted a 20-17 overtime victory over Jacksonville, assuring the Jets of a postseason berth.

“I think we’re in the playoffs,” Ryan said as a media-filled room broke into laughter. “It ain’t the way I wanted it, but I’ll take it.”

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That’s because beggars can’t be choosers.

Even with a 10-5 record, the Jets show all the earmarks of a one-and-done playoff squad. A 38-34 loss to Chicago was proof.

Yes, the playoff-bound Bears (11-4) have bite. Chicago has won seven of its last eight games to notch the NFC’s second-best record behind Atlanta (12-2). But respect is still hard to come by. These Bears have yet to impress as much as the 2006 team that reached Super Bowl XLI, let alone the 1985 club that mauled its way to a Lombardi Trophy.

“It’s not like they just beat us here and there,” Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace opined.

He’s right. New York was aiding the Bears by beating itself Sunday with mental errors, suspect coaching decisions, shoddy special teams and a defense that was surprisingly just as bad.

The latter was once New York’s strength. But these Jets couldn’t muster a pass rush with three- and four-man pressures. Even a run defense that hadn’t allowed a 100-yard performance in 2010 was gouged for 113 yards and one touchdown on Matt Forte’s 19 carries. And it’s not like the Bears field an offensive line made with blocks of granite.

New York’s defense looked more like the unit that got smoked by New England in a 45-3 loss three weeks ago than the one that held Miami and Pittsburgh to 23 combined points the past two games. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw three third-quarter touchdowns as Jets cornerbacks were spun like tops on scoring strikes of 40, 25 and 26 yards.

Asked to explain the second-half collapse, Ryan said, “That’s a great question because I was asking myself the same question in the third quarter. We couldn’t stop a nosebleed then. It would have been easy if it would have been one guy’s mistakes. You’ve got to give them credit. When Cutler’s hot, he’s as good as there is. He made some big plays against us.”

Ryan didn’t help matters, giving the Bears some much-needed momentum early in the third quarter when calling for a fake punt. The Jets were so skittish about kicking to Devin Hester that New York tried a gadget play on fourth-and-3 from their own 40-yard line even while holding a 24-17 lead. The gimmick failed when quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was serving as the up-man, had a short pass attempt to Brad Smith broken up in coverage by Chicago wide receiver Rashied Davis. Not only did the Bears sense the fake was coming, Davis -- a converted cornerback from the Arena League – was a terrible choice to throw against.

Cutler, who fired a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Johnny Knox on the very next play, echoed the thoughts of every Jets fan when saying, “I don’t know what they were thinking exactly with that one.”

“We worked it all week. We felt good about it,” said Ryan, whose team consistently gave Chicago good starting field position when kicking to and away from Hester and kickoff returner Danieal Manning. “Quite honestly, if the ball got in Hester’s hands, we knew where it was going to end up. It’s just one of those things where we thought that play was there. We’ve got to execute.”

For the most part, Sanchez did just that. But a strong effort (24 of 37 passing for 269 yards and one touchdown) was marred by a turnover on New York’s final offensive play. Bears safety Chris Harris made a great read on a Sanchez pass to Santonio Holmes, zipping in front of the wide receiver on the Chicago sideline for a game-sealing interception with 51 seconds remaining.

No wonder Sanchez was filled with mixed emotions about backing into the playoffs.

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to feel like,” he said. “On one hand, you’re frustrated and upset. You just threw the ball to the other team and you lose the game. On the other hand, you make it to the playoffs. Everything got accomplished that we needed to accomplish today except for winning. It’s bittersweet, I guess.”

Jets nose tackle Sione Pouha went one step further.

“It’s like sweet-and-sour chicken,” the 325-pounder said. “You don’t know whether to savor the sweetness or cringe at the sourness.”

Bitter beer-face should be the response.

This isn’t like 2009 when the 9-7 Jets snuck into the playoffs by winning their final two games as Indianapolis and Cincinnati rested their starters for the postseason. That was an overachieving Jets squad with a first-year head coach (Ryan) and rookie quarterback (Sanchez). Reaching the AFC championship game was a testament to what can be accomplished when an underdog gets hot late in the season.

The 2010 Jets didn’t just enter the season surrounded by Super Bowl hype. They invited it from the top of the franchise on down with a brashness that would make Muhammad Ali in his prime seem humble.

The Jets are now struggling to back those words.

“We’ve done it in spurts in different phases,” Sanchez said. “One week it’s special teams. One week it’s offense. One week it’s the defense. We’ve all got to do it at the same time if we’re going to make a run like we did last year.

“We know we’re a tough matchup for people. We have great wideouts, a great offensive live, and when the defense is on, there’s no stopping them. You can’t throw anywhere or run anywhere. We just need to do it all right at the same time.”

Time is running out. Ryan has already said he is likely to rest Sanchez, who is suffering from a sore right throwing shoulder, and other ailing starters next Sunday against visiting Buffalo. That gives New York no time to work on correcting its flaws outside of practice before a first-round playoff road game against either the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs or AFC South winner.

“Obviously, you want a higher seed and all that stuff but we’re in the tournament now,” Ryan said. “A lot of teams can’t say that. I am excited about getting back to the playoffs.”

At this point, that’s about all there is to get excited about with the Jets.

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