EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Byron Leftwich switched plays just before a crucial third down in overtime against the Jets. Leftwich noticed the Jets’ defense was jumping routes on third down all day, so he decided to send Jimmy Smith long. The strategy worked.

Leftwich threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Smith, giving Jacksonville a 26-20 win over the Jets yesterday, although the Jaguars (2-1) had to survive a replay review after Smith initially was ruled down at the 1.

The Jets (1-2) have bigger troubles: quarterback Chad Pennington strained his right shoulder again, and backup Jay Fiedler could be out for a while with a right shoulder injury. Pennington and Leftwich gamely played through pain, but in the end, Leftwich left his good friend hurting even worse.

Leftwich finished 16-of-23 for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception despite a groin injury. Teammate Fred Taylor had a career-high 37 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Perhaps it was too much to ask Pennington to lead the Jets to victory with a bum right shoulder. Pennington left in the third period after straining his shoulder on consecutive sacks. It is the same one in which he had a torn rotator cuff repaired in the off-season.

But it wasn’t long before he was back in when Fiedler got hurt. Though emergency quarterback Brooks Bollinger started warming up, Pennington came back in the fourth quarter. Pennington and Fiedler will have MRI exams today, but Pennington said “they’ll have to cut it off for me not to play.”

That might not be up to him. Pennington finished 9-of-19 for 76 yards and two interceptions, and coach Herman Edwards said Bollinger might have to start next week at Baltimore. Pennington said he felt the same amount of pain as when he initially hurt his shoulder last year.

Curtis Martin could not get going, either, finishing with 67 yards on 18 carries. The Jets had 168 yards of offense, and Jacksonville held the ball for nearly 15 more minutes.

“Offensively, we’re all searching for answers right now,” Pennington said. “We’re just taking turns messing plays up.”

Despite those numbers, the Jets had a chance to win in the end. Mike Nugent kicked a 25-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. The kick came after an officials review overturned a called touchdown – replays showed Wayne Chrebet did not have possession of the 7-yard pass from Pennington.

Pennington threw an interception to start the extra period. Leftwich also tossed a pick, but the Jets got pinned deep thanks to two penalties and punted.

Jacksonville got the ball back on the Jets 34 and took advantage.

The Jets converted three Jaguar turnovers into 10 points. John Abraham was a menace, with 10 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that tackle James Reed returned 33 yards for a 14-10 Jets lead in the third quarter.

Jacksonville went ahead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Taylor scored on a 3-yard run off a Jets turnover. Rookie returner Justin Miller fumbled a punt and Gerald Sensabaugh recovered at the 16.