In the middle of a massacre something odd happened: a football game broke out. The San Diego Chargers, as expected, were whipping the Jets about as badly as could have been expected when all of a sudden the Jets found their pride and came back to make a game of it. In the end, they should have won – well, at least, they could have won.

What was amazing about the first half was that the Jets found themselves trailing by only 11 points.The Chargers had a 19-5 advantage in first downs and had outgained Gang Green by slightly better than two to one (281 yards to the Jets’ 139). Fortunately for the Jets, San Diego also drew four flags, negating more than 60 yards of offense.

Still, by the time halftime arrived, Chargers quarterback Drew Brees had completed 14 of 19 passes for 215 yards without being sacked. There is no way in the NFL that you throw 19 balls, gain 215 yards, and do not win in a rout – unless, of course, your own defense gives up pass plays just as big.

Early in the second quarter, Vinny Testaverde hit Chris Baker for 47 yards to set up a short touchdown run by Curtis Martin, and the Jets were back in the game. They would have been more than just in the game if they could have converted on a third-quarter drive that stalled at the Chargers’ 5-yard line after the Jets had driven 43 yards in four plays. Mike Nugent’s chip-shot field goal was a mild consolation – he had missed a 51-yarder in the first quarter that would have given the Jets an early lead – but a feeling of missed opportunity hung over the team.

That feeling seemed to be confirmed late in the third quarter when the Chargers drove 55 yards to set up LaDainian Tomlinson’s fourth touchdown of the day. The battered Vinny gave way to what CBS’s Dan Dierdorf ebulliently referred to as “the start of the Brooks Bollinger era,” which resulted in two fourth quarter touchdown drives of 75 and 48 yards. The second of those drives was followed by a failed two-point conversion try to Wayne Cherbet, leaving the Jets five points behind, 36-21, with about four minutes to play.

Everyone knew the Jets would need a miracle to win, but in fact they needed two miracles and got one.John Abraham, doing what John Abraham is supposed to do, forced a fumble out of Brees. Jonathan Vilma recovered, and suddenly San Diego was forced to rely on its weakest link – its pass defense – to hold onto a victory. After a stupid personal foul penalty against inside linebacker Donnie Edwards, the Jets were at the San Diego three, first and goal, and really didn’t need any miracles, just solid execution.

This might have been a good time for the Jets to go to the shotgun or some kind of rollout, which would have given Bollinger, perhaps the shortest passer currently playing in the NFL at about 5-foot-11, a clearer throwing lane. Instead, Bollinger had one throw batted down and watched helplessly as two fade patterns into single coverage in the end zone missed by inches.

The Brooks Bollinger era? I don’t know what to say.He showed some poise in a tough situation yesterday, but it took him 20 passes to gain just 106 yards. He moves in the pocket and sets up much quicker than Testaverde, but he has to, because his lack of height means that he has to take deep drops to see what is developing downfield. Ask me about the Brooks Bollinger era after next week’s game at Carolina,where the Jets must play the team that is quickly emerging as the NFC’s best. The Panthers are building up a head of steam with five straight victories, including a shockingly thorough demolition of Tampa Bay. The Jets’ steam now seems all dissipated.

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As the father of former Baltimore Colts punt returner Tim Berra once said of another sport, 90% of the game is half mental. Half their mental capacity was about all the Giants needed to beat the 49ers yesterday, but in playing down to San Francisco’s level, they were in danger of losing their competitive edge – as they surely must have realized about midway through the third quarter, when they found themselves clinging to a 10-6 lead.

Good veteran teams can sometimes afford to coast against second-level opponents, but it’s always the sign of a young team on the rise that they dominate the weak.

The Giants didn’t exactly do that, but with about 12 minutes to go, they must have remembered who they’re supposed to be and snapped back to form. Eli Manning led the Giants on two long, unflustered drives that covered 130 yards and ate nearly eight minutes off the clock, both culminating in short touchdown runs by Brandon Jacobs. If it wasn’t an impressive victory, it was at least an impressive finish.

In some ways, though, the win was as maddeningly inconclusive as the Giants’ easy rout of the Redskins last week – is this team ready for a Super Bowl run or not? All the offensive tools are there, the defense seems to be coming around – no touchdowns allowed in the last two games – but there is still a curious lack of fire.

The most revealing stat yesterday was the ridiculous 10 penalties the Giants were assessed for a total of 81 yards. Those numbers don’t tell the half of it: Five of the penalties were holding calls, three of them wiping out first down completions by Manning and another negating a fine 20-yard run byTiki Barber. Any one of those plays might have helped the Giants blow the 49ers out early, the way a team gunning for the NFC championship should have.

Next week, the Giants get another big schedule break when they host the shell-shocked Vikings, their last “gimme” game before the first of two big ones with Philadelphia. How much of their mental capacity will they need for that one? I don’t know, but it would be nice to see 100%.

Mr. Barra is the author of “The Last Coach: A Life of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant.”