SAN DIEGO – The night started out pretty well defensively for the Jets, who weren’t giving Chargers prolific running back LaDainian Tomlinson anything.
Then the Jets lost starting nose tackle Kris Jenkins for the rest of the game to what was described by the team as a back injury, and the Chargers’ offense had its way on the ground during the rest of their 48-29 victory.
The degree of Jenkins’ injury was not announced by the Jets, but his absence gave stark evidence as to how important he is to the defense.
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Jets DB David Barrett, who started in place of Eric Smith at safety, intercepted Chargers QB Phillip Rivers and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
The interception was the 18th of Barrett’s career. The TD was the first of his career. Barrett’s INT marked the eight consecutive season he has had at least one.
Barrett’s TD return marked the first Jets INT return for a touchdown since Mark Brown picked off the Bills’ Kelly Holcomb on Jan. 1, 2006.
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The Jets’ revolving door for kickers took an interesting swing yesterday when before last night’s game they re-signed P Ben Graham.
Graham was cut last week after a poor start to the season. His services for last night’s game were needed when the player who replaced him, Reggie Hodges, hurt his left thigh in practice and was unable to kick.
To make room for Graham, the Jets waived rookie WR Marcus Henry, a sixth- round draft pick. *
Jets WR Chansi Stuckey, who missed all of his rookie year last season, caught a TD pass for the third consecutive game. Brett Favre connected with him in the fourth quarter from four-yards out.
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Favre is now 18-16 on Monday Night Football. Last night was his first career loss to the Chargers after entering 5-0 with 13 TDs, 4 INTs, and a 103.5 rating. This is the 16th consecutive season he’s played on Monday night, tying Marcus Allen, Bill Romanowski and Ed White for the longest such streak.