SAN DIEGO — It had to be good omen for the Jets. What else could it be?
Whatever it was, you can rest assured that Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding never wants to be lining up for an important field goal against the Jets again.
Kaeding, who had been almost perfect this season, yanked a 36-yard field goal wide left in the first quarter and he later pushed a 40-yarder wide right in the fourth quarter. He also missed a 57-yarder just before the end of the half.
Five years ago, Kaeding missed a field goal in overtime in a 20-17 wild-card playoff loss to the Jets.
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“One of these rested on my shoulders before,” Kaeding said. “I feel sorry for my teammates, my coaches and the support staff for letting them down. It’s going to be a tough few months, but I have to get through it.”
Kaeding entered the game having made career-best 32-of-35 on field goals this season and had been successful on his last 69 attempts from inside 40 yards. He was 23-of-23 from inside 40 this season, 23-of-23 in 2008 and 16-of-17 in 2007.
* Coach Rex Ryan on the Colts and their decision to take Peyton Manning and his top receivers out of the game in the teams’ meeting to rest them: “I don’t know if Santa Claus is going to be that good to me again. I will say I’d like to see Peyton Manning not play this week.”
* Mark Sanchez is so superstitious he said this week he will not shave his beard and will “do the same stuff, go to the same places to eat and study like crazy.”
* The Chargers, who entered the game as one of the least penalized teams in the league, were flagged 10 times for 87 yards. Among those penalties were a couple of personal fouls, leaving a number of their players shocked at their loss of composure.
“Obviously, it meant a world of difference in the game,” Chargers tight end Antonio Gates said, calling the penalties “uncharacteristic” of the Chargers. “I couldn’t believe it was happening at times.”
* Rookie RB Shonn Greene now has 263 rushing yards and two touchdowns in two postseason games and is leading the NFL. Greene’s 53-yard TD run was the longest run in Jets postseason history and his longest TD run, eclipsing his 39-yard run last week against the Bengals.
* CB Darrelle Revis had an interception as did safety Jim Leonhard, who also had a sack. . . . DT Mike DeVito played a great game, with several big tackles in the run game and a sack in the fourth quarter. . . . Revis is the ninth Jet to record two career postseason interceptions. . . . DE Shaun Ellis suffered a left hand injury in the first quarter but continued to play with it heavily wrapped.
* The Jets withstood the early Chargers’ storm as they had hoped. The Chargers entered the game having outscored their opponents 103-51 in the first quarter this season. During their 11-game winning streak, the Chargers have outscored opponents 83-16 in the first quarter. The game was tied 0-0 after the first quarter.
“This was a happy locker room coming in trailing only 7-0,” kicker Jay Feely said. “We felt like we had the game right where we wanted it.”
* The Jets are 2-0 in the postseason against the Colts, their opponent in the AFC Championship on Sunday. They scored a 41-0 wildcard win in 2003 and a 16-7 victory in Super Bowl III.