The lack of big plays also frustrated the Chargers’ players who committed a number of dead ball as well as personal fouls throughout. These errors put San Diego into a lot of undesirable third down scenarios. In fact, the Chargers’ average distance on third down was 9.3 yards.

This allowed the Jets to bring a lot of pressure to Phillip Rivers who rushed many of his throws. Rivers was held to a 31% conversion rate on third down. Mission accomplished by Ryan and his defense.


< > Although he flew under the radar somewhat, David Harris played an excellent game. He led the team with 10 tackles (9 solo, 1 for loss) and had a pass break up. He also did a great job of filling the middle, taking on blocks and attacking the line of scrimmage.

Despite playing on a sore ankle, Harris was a major reason why the Chargers’ ground game never got on track. Sproles and Tomlinson combined for 57 yards. Helping Harris out was a Jets’ defensive line, which did a solid job of standing up the Chargers’ blockers.


< > One of the more dangerous weapons in the Chargers’ attack was their screen game. Darren Sproles, in particular, had been lethal on these plays all season but the Jets’ D looked very prepared to handle it.

Darrelle Revis diagnosed a screen to Tomlinson in the first half and cut him down for negative yardage. Later in the game, Norv Turner tried to get Sproles in space but Jim Leonhard shadowed him in the flat and Rivers had to throw it away.

Ryan and Mike Pettine did a great job of preparing the defense for this play. They used “1 ½ coverage” where one defender was assigned to the running back and another shadowed him.


< > Bart Scott did not get enough depth in his zone drops. His responsibility is to cover the deep middle of the field but he never got there on a few of San Diego’s completions. One of them was the Chargers’ first touchdown.

It appeared as though Kerry Rhodes blew the coverage but TE Kris Wilson was Scott’s primary responsibility. While we’re on the topic of Scott, he did not do a great job of taking on blocks in this game.

He is nowhere no near David Harris in this area and is too often driven out of the play. Scott is definitely the emotional leader of the defense but his on-field performance does not always match his intensity.


< > Some key components of Brian Schottenheimer’s philosophy were on full display Sunday. He likes to use peripheral movement to distract the defense’s reads. For example, he had Sanchez fake screen passes before he hands of on runs up the middle.

Schotty also will run shadow movement as a misdirection. When he noticed San Diego’s outside linebackers cheating hard for the inside run, he brought a receiver in motion through the backfield to force them to respect the reverse.

Both types of misdirection force the defense to move away from the play and create lanes in the running game.


< > Classiest move of the season: Rex Ryan uses Thomas Jones on the fourth and one play. Shonn Greene was having the better game but Ryan went with the veteran. Jones would later say that it was the biggest run of his career.

The move was not lost on the rest of the team either. Jones is perhaps the most respected player on this team and by him carrying the ball, it gave his teammates extra drive to be successful on that play.

The ripple effects from going for it on fourth down and choosing Jones as the ball carrier should strengthen this team’s unity even more.



Other Random Thoughts & Observations

The Jets’ offensive line and running backs did a good job of blitz pick-ups throughout. The Chargers had only 1 sack and three hits on Sanchez…Kerry Rhodes has been more physical as of late. He made a nice play to come up and stop Antonio Gates one yard short on a third down pass…The Jets did not get a first down until the 8-minute mark of the second quarter…In an effort to support Sanchez, Schottenheimer assigned Tony Richardson the task of reminding his QB of the down and distance for every upcoming play…Shawne Merriman was a non-factor in this game. In fact, the Jets usually blocked him with one tight end (usually Ben Hartsock) who had no problem containing him…CB Antonio Cromartie was either frustrated or tried to agitate the Jets. Not only did he take a cheap shot on Shonn Greene after his TD, he tried pulling the ball from Braylon Edwards’ after a completed pass was already blown dead by the officials… Brian Schottenheimer restricts Sanchez’ downfield throws until the Jets reach midfield. Once he hits the 50, Schottenheimer opens things up. This approach limits Sanchez’ damage in case he throws a pick…Nick Mangold did a great job reaching the second level and taking out the Chargers’ inside linebackers…Mike DeVito had a solid game. He stepped in when Shaun Ellis got hurt and the Jets did not miss a beat. He brought pressure in Rivers’ face on his second interception. Rivers could not step into his throw and floated an easy ball for Jim Leonhard. DeVito had 3 hurries on the day…Despite an 18-year career, the Jets’ playoff win against Cincinnati was Tony Richardson’s first.