Jets End Tennessee's Undefeated Run In Dominant Fashion
POSTED: 6:41 pm EST November 23,
2008
Nashville, TN -- (Sports Network) - Brett Favre threw for 224 yards with two touchdowns and Leon Washington ran for a pair of scores, as the New York Jets ended Tennessee's undefeated season with a 34-13 rout at LP Field.Thomas Jones ran for 96 yards on 27 carries and caught a touchdown pass for the Jets (8-3), who remained atop the AFC East with their fifth straight win. Washington finished with eight carries for 82 yards -- 61 coming on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter that essentially put the game away. Favre completed 25-of-32 passes with an interception and set a new NFL record with his 14th straight 20-touchdown season, breaking the mark of 13 he shared with Dan Marino. The Jets punted only once and rolled up 409 yards against a Tennessee defense that was allowing just 281.8 yards per game and had yielded a league-low 13.1 points per contest. "We didn't think we could dominate them in the running game or the passing game, and in all honesty, we did both," said Favre. Tennessee (10-1) had won 13 straight regular-season games dating back to last year, but managed only 88 yards in the first half and 281 for the game. The Titans finished with only 45 yards rushing. "It put a bad taste in our mouth," said Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse about the loss. "It's not a good feeling to lose and also to lose at home." Kerry Collins had thrown five touchdown passes in the past two games, helping the Titans stay unbeaten when opposing defenses focused on the run. He threw just one scoring pass on Sunday and connected on 21-of-39 throws for 243 yards. New York carried a 10-3 lead into the break, but totally dominated the opening half with 196 yards. Tennessee mounted only one sustained drive and the Jets hurt themselves with a pair of turnovers. The Jets didn't make many mistakes in the second half, scoring on each of their four possessions. Jay Feely kicked a 30-yard field goal to cap a 13-play, 66-yard drive to open the third quarter and the New York defense came up with a turnover on Tennessee's first offensive play after the kickoff. Abram Elam forced a fumble from Chris Johnson and the Jets took over at the Tennessee 35. Favre made it pay off with a two-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles for a 20-3 cushion. The Titans followed with a 49-yard field goal from Rob Bironas early in the fourth quarter, but the Jets answered immediately when Washington broke through a huge hole in the middle of the Tennessee defensive line and darted down the right sideline for a 61-yard score to make it 27-6. Collins finally put his team in the end zone just 1:24 later with a four-play drive that ended with a six-yard scoring pass to Ahmard Hall, but the Jets ate up 7 1/2 minutes on the next series and Washington sealed the contest with a four-yard touchdown run with only 2:09 remaining. The Jets finished with 192 yards on the ground and held the ball for more than 40 minutes. "To be able to control the time of possession and to be able to stop the run was tremendous," said Jets head coach Eric Mangini. "Our ability to run the football was a big factor." Tennessee went three-and-out to open the game and the Jets followed with a nine-play drive for a touchdown on their initial possession. Favre started it with a 16-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery and soon after converted a third down with a short toss to tight end Dustin Keller. A 21-yard connection with Coles then set up a screen to Jones, who found the end zone from 10 yards away for a 7-0 lead. New York's second possession nearly ended in disaster after Favre was sacked and fumbled, but Brandon Moore recovered and the Jets were able to punt it away. The Jets had a short field for their third offensive series, starting from the Tennessee 46, and drove 23 yards to the 23, but Washington fumbled after a reception to end the threat. Favre was picked off by Cortland Finnegan on New York's next possession, but the Titans were unable to convert either of the turnovers into points. Favre then guided the Jets from their own 20 to the Tennessee two, but the 7 1/2-minute drive stalled and Feely booted a 20-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0. Tennessee's offense finally came alive with just under four minutes to play in the half. The Titans had mustered just two first downs on their first five possessions, then drove to the New York 24 with their sixth before settling for a 43-yard Bironas field goal in the final minute. "Any time you allow Brett Favre to stay under center for 40 minutes, it's going to be a long day," lamented Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. "That is basically the bottom line." Game Notes The Jets last won five straight games during the 2004 season...Favre notched his first win at LP Field and has a victory in 32 stadiums, breaking the mark of 31 he shared with Marino...Coles finished with seven catches for 88 yards in the victory...Tennessee defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth left the game near the end of the first half with what appeared to be a head injury, but returned to the contest and finished with 1 1/2 sacks.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








