SEATTLE – It’s hard to imagine even Antonio Cromartie could be optimistic about the Jets’ playoff chances now.
Cromartie’s Jets fell 28-7 to the Seahawks on Sunday at CenturyLink Field to drop to 3-6, watching their postseason hopes flicker.
The Jets offense looked like a bumbling bunch of misfits, led by quarterback Mark Sanchez, who committed two more turnovers to bring his season total to 13. The only points the Jets managed came from the defense, which put up a valiant fight but could not overcome its inept offensive counterparts.
Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson had some nice moments, but the Jets defense held him down for most of the game. The problem was the offense did nothing to support them, even with Tim Tebow getting a larger role than usual.
The Jets spent the week after their bye talking about cutting down on mistakes. It looked like it was all talk.
The Jets had several killer self-inflicted wounds early that set the tone. Sanchez threw an interception in the end zone, his third red zone interception of the season. A play before that, tight end Dustin Keller committed a false start penalty at the 1-yard line, moving the ball back to the 6.
The Jets survived Sanchez’s pick with the defense registering another hold. They would not fare so well after their next big mistake.
With just under six minutes to go in the half and the score tied 7-7, punt returner Jeremy Kerley muffed a Seahawks punt at midfield and Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor recovered at the Jets 42.
It took Wilson and the Seahawks eight plays to march into the end zone, scoring on Marshawn Lynch’s plunge from inside the 1 to go up 14-7.
Sanchez added a fumble in the fourth quarter when the game, ending any hope of a comeback.
Early in the game, it looked like the Jets might get blown out. They put together an 11-play opening drive that stalled when the Jets got stuffed consecutively on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. The Seahawks took over at their own 41-yard line and the rookie Wilson showed what he was capable of. He completed an 18-yard pass to Doug Baldwin, and then hit a 38-yard strike to Golden Tate, who jumped over Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson, for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 8:01 left in the first quarter.
The Jets defense buckled down after that and really started to bring the heat on Wilson, living up to their vow last week to “rattle” the rookie from Wisconsin. The Jets defense put the team on the scoreboard when Mike DeVito sacked Wilson, forcing a fumble that Muhammad Wilkerson recovered and returned 21 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
The Jets forced another turnover on the next series when Lynch fumbled on the opening drive of the second quarter, with Calvin Pace recovering for the Jets. The Jets offense cut through the Seahawks defense, mixing in Tebow and with Sanchez hitting Jeremy Kerley for a 38-yard pass.
They had the ball at the 1 when Tebow entered the game, looking for his first touchdown of the season. Instead, Keller had a false start and moved the ball back to the 6. Sanchez then telegraphed a pass to Keller in the end zone that cornerback Richard Sheman was waiting for, jumping in front of Keller for the interception.
The Seahawks put the game away early in the fourth quarter when Seahawks Wilson found Sidney Rice for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 and put the Jets’ playoff hopes on life support. Seattle did a nice job of exploiting a mismatch of Jets nickel corner Ellis Lankster against Rice.
Seattle and former Jets coach Pete Carroll rubbed salt in the wound with a trick play that had Tate throw to Rice for a touchdown to make it 28-7 and embarrass the Jets.
The Jets actually looked like they had a plan for Tebow for the first time this season. He came out throwing the ball, which has been a rarity this season. He threw short passes, but also mixed in some nice runs.
Ryan said during the bye week that they would look for ways to use Tebow, then backed off that statement last week. It is clear, though, the coaching staff made a concerted effort to find a bigger role for him.