by NASHVILLE, Tenn, The oldest player in the NFL, the youngest one helped lead the Jets to their first victory of the seasonAaron Rodgers, 40, threw two touchdown passes, 20-year-old rookie running back Braelon Allen had a rushing, a receiving score to lift the Jets to a 24-17 win over the Titans on Sunday afternoon at Nissan StadiumAllen had a 20-yard touchdown run with 431 left in the game to break a 17-17 tie The Jets' defense came up with a big stop late in the fourth quarter, cing Titans quarterback Will Levis to throw an incompletion on fourth-and-goal the Jets' 14 with 17 seconds left The play helped seal a win that Rodgers believes could loom large later in the yearThese are really important games late in the season when you're trying to get in the playoffs, Rodgers said It was a hot day, short week, very good defense, start off really slow but finding a way to win That's what really good teams doThe Jets had to show plenty of resilience to get the victory They lost two key defensive players in the game One of them appears to be done for the seasonEdge rusher Jermaine Johnson was carted off in the third quarter, the Jets fear he suffered a torn Achilles Johnson will undergo further testing Linebacker CJ Mosley left early in the second quarter with a toe injury The Jets already were without starting cornerback DJ Reed due to knee sorenessFor stretches of the game, the defense, which had been vilified for its performance last Monday in San Francisco, looked like it hadn't corrected its issues stopping the run But in the end, it ultimately redeemed itselfIt got dicey, thoughWith 130 left in the game, Levis escaped a sack, ran 13 yards to the Jets' 10 for a first down Later in the drive, on third down the 8, Will McDonald sacked Levis with under 30 seconds remaining On the ensuing play, Levis' pass to Tyler Boyd was broken up Tony Adams, the Jets 1-1 celebrated the winOverall, the guys stood up, Robert Saleh saidMcDonald, last year's first-round pick, had three sacks, matching his total his rookie season On the final one, he would not be denied In my mind I was just thinking, all right, one-on-one, win this, we win the game, McDonald saidRodgers was efficient He completed 18 of 30 passes for 176 yards Breece Hall had 119 yards scrimmage, had a 26-yard touchdown reception to give the Jets their first lead, 14-10, early in the second half Allen had the first two touchdowns of his careerLevis went 19-for-28 passing for 192 yards, touchdown, a, an interception, a fumble Calvin Ridley, who caught four passes for 77 yards, had one rushing, one receiving touchdownThis was the kind of game the Jets would likely lose in recent years, but having Rodgers to settle them down the stretch in a tight game proved indispensableThere's been some times last year where there were some negative vibes going at times, Rodgers said It felt like, 'Here we go again, we're not going to win this one' I just don't want us to ever get in that spotThe Jets were leading 17-10 with 538 left in the third quarter when their defense gave up a big play Ridley made a tumbling catch in between Sauce Gardner, Clark, Chuck, rolled into the end zone for a 40-yard scoreI still don't know how he caught that ball, Gardner saidThe score stayed that way until Rodgers led a seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive Five different Jets touched the ball on the seriesHe's able to dial everybody in, make sure everybody's on the same page, Allen said He's just like a conductorOn third-and-1 with 711 left, Rodgers threw it up for Garrett Wilson in single coverage, who turned, caught the pass for a 26-yard gain to the Tennessee 39 Rodgers said Wilson was Gumout thereTwo plays later, on second-and-16, Rodgers threw it on the left sideline to Mike Williams, who made a great catch in traffic for a 19-yard gain to the 26 After a 6-yard reception Hall, the Jets handed it off to Allen, who sprinted past the Titans' defenseRight tackle Morgan Moses, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker cleared a huge hole, helped a key block Lindenhurst's Jeremy RuckertIt doesn't get much easier than that, Allen said My Nana could have probably scored on that oneThe Jets also got key contributions other unheralded playersIrv Charles had two big special teams tackles, blocked a punt that went out of bounds at the Tennessee 30 The Jets had a chance to extend their lead to 21-10 in the middle of the third quarter, but the offense stalled at the 15 Greg Zuerlein's 33-yard field goal made it 17-10Rodgers said they're still growingGreat teams, when you're up 14-10, you block a punt, you'd score a touchdown to go up two scores, Rodgers said We're not quite there yet But good teams can close out games in tough environments We'll be really thankful for this I hope down the road
Published in Newsday (16.09.2024)