It was a tale of two halves for the New York Jets. They got off to an atrocious start and fell behind 14 – 0 very early. Bryce Petty threw an interception on his first pass of the game, which led to a 49ers touchdown on their first play. The Jets hung in there and were able to tie the game up late and win it on a Bilal Powell TD in overtime. Petty got better as the game went along and Powell has many wondering why the Jets have used him sparingly all season.
Bryce Petty was 23 of 35 with 257 yards and played better, especially after the opening interception. He held the ball too long at times but he seemed to gain confidence in the 2nd half and made a major league throw to Robby Anderson in overtime to setup the winning touchdown run.
Bilal Powell saw extensive action after Matt Forte was injured and couldn’t return. A 5 yard per carry average and 145 yards rushing was exactly what this offense needed.
Robby Anderson continues to make plays and seems to have excellent chemistry with Petty. The undrafted free agent had 6 catches for 99 yards including a big reception in overtime.
One other difference in the passing game under Petty seems to be the emergence of the tight ends. Emergence is probably a strong word, but considering how non-existent the tight end position has been for the Jets, when you have 5 receptions it is an emergence. Brandon Bostick (2 – 17) and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (3 – 35) both seemed to be targets in the passing game and that is a new direction for the Jets.
The defense got better as the game went along, giving up no 2nd half points. They had a big stop in overtime which took the pressure off Petty as a field goal would win the game. Darrelle Revis didn’t seem to give up a completion. Is that a matter of Revis having a good game or Colin Kapernick not challenging him? The game film will give that answer. The run defense was terrible, they gave up 9.2 yards per carry. Carlos Hyde rushed for 193 yards on the day.
When you give up that much on the ground, a win is normally out of the question.
The Jets hung tough, they didn’t give up and the late comeback put them in position to grab a win in overtime.
If Bryce Petty can build upon this game and get better each week he will be in the QB conversation for 2017.