Rookies Pave Way, New York Jets Stun San Diego Chargers

NFL News - January 18th, 2010 - Written by John

Look out Colts. The team that got a free pass into the NFL Playoffs is on it's way to the AFC Championship.

Shonn Green ran for 123 yards and San Diego's Nate Kaeding missed three field goals to pave the way for a 17-14 win by the New York Jets in the divisional round on Sunday. The Jets were underdogs by 5 1/2 points, according to NFL Betting Lines.

"It's a big win for our franchise, and we're not done," rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez said.

Kaeding only missed three field goals all year, but couldn't convert a single kick that would have at least tied the game. And suddenly, it appears New York can do no wrong. Kickers are 0-5 against the Jets in field goal attempts, and opponents have only scored 28 points in two games.

New York now travels to Indianapolis, the very site it was essentially handed a ticket to the playoffs when the Colts sat their starters in the second-to-last game of the season. If Indy has any concerns about the match-up, it has itself to blame.

"A matchup that probably nobody wanted, but too bad," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said. "Here we come!"

Ryan said at the beginning of the playoffs he believed he had the best team in all of football, and that the Jets should be favored to win the conference, if not the Super Bowl. They had +1000 odds to win the AFC, according to BetUS, but have clearly overperformed with one of the best defenses and a running game that has eaten up Cincinnati and San Diego.

Everybody beat the odds. Even Darrelle Revis, who earned bettors a +325 payout when he made an acrobatic interception of Philip Rivers.

Revis wasn't able to stick to one wideout, which allowed Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson to gain 204 receiving yards on the day, and Rivers finished with 298. But he came up big when he needed to, stopping a deep drive in the fourth quarter when he contested a pass to Jackson, and the ball fell into his lap as he hit the turf.

Sanchez threw for only 100 yards, the fewest ever by a winning Jets quarterback in the playoffs, but hit Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone to initially take a 10-7 lead.

The disparity between running games was just too much, and New York's took the game over from there. Greene became just the third rookie to gain 100 yards in his first two postseason games, and broke of a huge 53-yard score in the fourth quarter that was the difference. It was the second longest touchdown run in Jets history.

"Once I got to the secondary, I had one tackle to break and I did, and it was off to the end zone," Greene told the AP. "A lot of people didn't know about me, but they know about the Jets."

Thomas Jones had an even bigger run, although it was only for four yards. He got the ball on fourth-and-one with just over a minute left, and converted it.

"That symbolizes what this team is all about," guard Alan Faneca said. "The hard nose. We're coming at you. We're that kind of team."