TAMPA, Fla. — The Jets did exactly what they came here to do: They took care of business.
It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t flashy and didn’t deliver a lot of material for the highlight shows.
But the Jets left Raymond James Stadium with a 26-3 win over the anemic Buccaneers, their third consecutive victory, and flew home with a 7-6 record that has their playoff hopes resuscitated.
The Jets’ win, coupled with several other results yesterday, has them very much alive in the AFC playoff hunt.
With three remaining games, the Jets are in a four-way tie for the second wildcard spot with the Dolphins, Jaguars and Ravens, who are also 7-6. The Patriots (8-5) have a one-game lead in the AFC East on the Jets and Dolphins, and the Broncos (8-5) have a one-game lead on those four teams for the top wildcard spot.
“It’s like the amazing race,” right tackle Damien Woody said. “It’s exciting to know it’s right there for us. The most important thing is we’ve got to keep winning, because none of it matters if we don’t take care of our end.”
Kicker Jay Feely, who kicked four field goals (40, 29 and two from 49 yards), said the Jets are in contention.
“We’re right there,” he said. “We’ve known since we were 4-6 that we needed to win out, that we needed to win those last six games. Like Rex said, it started as impossible, then it became improbable, and hopefully we can make it possible.”
The Jets made it possible yesterday with one of the most suffocating defensive performances in memory.
*They picked off Buccaneers rookie quarterback Josh Freeman three times.
*They held Tampa Bay to 124 yards of total offense and six first downs.
*They pitched a shutout on third downs as the Bucs were an appalling 0-14.
*In the first half, the Jets held the Buccaneers to 15 yards of offense and no first downs. The Jets outgained Tampa Bay 195-15 in the first 30 minutes, 119-6 on the ground.
“That was the best first half defensive performance I’ve ever been a part of,” said safety Kerry Rhodes, who had an interception late in the game.
“That’s how football feels when you’re pitching a shutout or a no-hitter,” linebacker Bart Scott said.
“When we get it going, this is what we can do,” defensive end Shaun Ellis said.
This was the fifth game this season the Jets held an opponent without an offensive touchdown and the second in three games. In their seven wins this season, the Jets have given up just 59 points.
The tone was set immediately as linebacker David Harris intercepted Freeman on the first play.
That led to the first of four Feely first-half field goals. Those, coupled with the first of two Thomas Jones rushing touchdowns, a 33-yarder, gave the Jets a comfortable 19-0 halftime lead. Jones (24 carries, 99 yards) would later add a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 26-3.
“I thought their will got broken,” defensive end Marques Douglas said. “After a while it was like they were totally not into it. This was fun. This was a rare game. You don’t have too many occasions like this where you dominate in every phase of the game.”
The Jets didn’t exactly dominate on offense, however. Missed opportunities forced them to settle for the field goals and prevented them from blowing Tampa Bay out in the first half.
With Mark Sanchez watching from home in New Jersey rehabbing his sprained right knee, Kellen Clemens made his first start in 23 months and was spotty at times, completing 12-of-23 for 111 yards. But Clemens didn’t turn the ball over and that was priority No. 1.
The protection of the ball — the Jets are 6-0 when they win the turnover battle — coupled with the defensive performance and 175 rushing yards has the Jets amped up for their home game Sunday against the struggling Falcons (6-7).
“We played to our strength, which is run the ball and don’t turn it over,” Woody said. “We follow that script, follow that formula, and we are a hard team to beat. We’ve just got to keep doing that.”
It’s amazing what three consecutive wins can do for a team that was 4-6 and mired in a six-of-seven-game losing streak.
“It looked bleak three weeks ago,” right guard Brandon Moore said. “Things are going according to plan. It feels good to be in the thick of it.”
The Keys:
KEY MOMENT: LB David Harris set the tone right away by picking off Bucs QB Josh Freeman on the first play from scrimmage. This rattled the rookie, who looked tentative after that play and was very inaccurate.
“We were in a cover 3 and [Freeman] was staring the receiver down and I just read his eyes, Harris said.
KEY PLAYER: Jay Feely was nearly perfect, making 4-of-5 field goal attempts. This ultra-conservative offensive game plan of the Jets would have failed had Feely not made those four first-half field goals to give them a 19-0 lead. His one miss, a 49-yarder, came because of a high snap.