Jets Unleash Favre, and He Lights Up Scoreboard

If the Jets get to the playoffs this year, they’ll look back at yesterday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals as the game when the Brett Favre of old was unleashed, and their season was turned around.Favre at times appeared to be hobbled by an injured ankle, but he nonetheless started his 257th consecutive regular-season game. And after three weeks of looking too tentative and cautious, in his fourth game as a Jet Favre unleashed a flurry of long bombs and showed off his trademark strong arm in a stunning 56-35 victory.Favre completed 24 of 34 passes for 289 yards, with a career-high six touchdowns. Favre is the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, and that he would pass for more touchdowns in his fourth game with the Jets than he ever did in 253 starts with the Green Bay Packers is the strongest statement he’s made to date that he still has it.Wearing throwback uniforms from their old days as the New York Titans of the American Football League, the Jets played a style of football reminiscent of that pass-happy era. After a scoreless first quarter the Jets went on a rampage, scoring on offense, defense, and special teams, and at halftime they led the Cardinals 34-0. By scoring 34 points in the second, the Jets broke their franchise record for points in a quarter; the old record was 30 points in the fourth quarter of the famous “Monday Night Miracle” against the Miami Dolphins in 2000.But as great as the second quarter was, the third showed that the Jets still have work to do. A team that takes a 34-0 lead into halftime should be able to breeze through the second half and win easily. But the Jets lack the ability to put teams away, and when the Cardinals scored three third-quarter touchdowns, they brought the score to within 34-21.The Jets sealed the win in the fourth quarter, but the third raised the question of whether this team has the kind of defense that can put opponents away when it needs to. In fact, the third quarter was reminiscent of the Jets’ fourth-quarter performance against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. In that game the Jets appeared to have control for most of the second half, but they couldn’t quite finish the Dolphins off and eventually won 20-14, only after surviving a scare in the closing minutes.Yesterday the Jets’ defense alternated between allowing Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner to find open receivers in their secondary and pressuring Warner into costly turnovers. Warner finished the game completing 40 of 57 passes for 472 yards, with two touchdowns, three interceptions, and four fumbles. The Jets recovered three of Warner’s fumbles, giving the Cardinals’ veteran quarterback six turnovers and about as bad a 472-yard game as a quarterback can have.But despite all the turnovers, the Jets can’t feel good about their defensive effort. Not when they allowed, over the third and fourth quarters, five straight touchdown drives — of 79, 76, 54, 62, and 66 yards. The Jets’ defense went through a long stretch in the second half when it simply couldn’t get off the field. And the players on the defense have to know that if they play like that every week, Favre won’t always be able to bail them out.Which is not to say Favre was perfect. He threw an interception on a reckless pass that Cardinals linebacker Chike Okeafor could easily have returned for a touchdown. But fortunately for the Jets, Thomas Jones caught Okeafor from behind at the 16-yard line, the Cardinals’ offense stalled, and Jets defensive tackle Kris Jenkins blocked the Cardinals’ ensuing field goal attempt.The best news for the Jets is that three of Favre’s six touchdown tosses went to Laveranues Coles, the wide receiver who had a close relationship with Favre’s predecessor, Chad Pennington, and hadn’t appeared to have developed the same rapport with Favre. Yesterday Favre looked like he was making a concerted effort to find Coles, throwing to him 13 times, and Coles responded by catching eight passes for 105 yards.The game ended on a scary note, when Jets defensive back Eric Smith drilled Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin with a helmet-to-helmet hit with just 27 seconds remaining. Boldin appeared to be knocked unconscious and was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken away from the Meadowlands by ambulance. There was no immediate word on his condition. Smith was also shaken up on the play but walked off on his own power. The NFL will likely fine him for the hit.Just two plays remained following the lengthy delay for Boldin’s injury, and the final play was an interception of Warner by Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, for the Jets’ seventh takeaway of the game. On most days, those seven takeaways would have been the story of the game. But when Brett Favre is throwing six touchdown passes, it’s not like most days.Mr. Smith is a writer for FanHouse.com.

Jets Unleash Favre, and He Lights Up Scoreboard

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