Jets top Bills, 26-17, to climb in division

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

November 3, 2008

Jets safety Abram Elam returns an interception for a touchdown

Jets safety Abram Elam returns an interception 92 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to give the Jets a 13-7 lead. (AP Photo / November 2, 2008)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - It wasn't just fans and media who were questioning the Jets.

Players, too, recognized that yesterday's game against the Bills was something more than one of 16.

"A chance for us to come out against a good team and prove our worth a little bit," safety Kerry Rhodes said during the week.

The Jets, behind a defense that ended its turnover drought and an offense that produced a clock-eating drive in the fourth quarter, did just that with a 26-17 victory over the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium, maybe the second most significant victory in the Eric Mangini Era.

At 5-3, the Jets pulled even with the Bills and Patriots, who lost to the Colts last night. The last-place Dolphins (4-4) are just a game behind.

"We proved we could come on the road and get a big win," Rhodes said. "This is a big game for us. They're a team that was No. 1 in the division before today and we were able to come here on their home field and get a win. That's tough in any division, especially ours."

Players didn't downplay the game's importance during the week, and they didn't do it in the locker room when it was over, either.

"It was huge, man," said linebacker Calvin Pace, part of a defense that hadn't created a turnover in three games but produced three yesterday. "We needed this one."

Brett Favre, whose interceptions - seven in the previous three games - had been a major topic, was given a game plan that required mostly short passes, and he avoided those kinds of mistakes yesterday.

Until the fourth quarter, that is. Then he single-handedly injected life into the crowd with an interception that was brought back for a touchdown, making it a one-possession game. Later, however, he would contribute to the drive that clinched the win.

With the Jets leading 23-10 early in the fourth quarter and having all the momentum after Buffalo's Rian Lindell missed a 43-yard field goal, Favre, who entered the game with an 0-3 record in Buffalo, made his first bad decision.

On first-and-10 from the Jets' 33-yard line, Favre (19-for-28 for 201 yards), under heavy pressure, lofted a floater down the left sideline for Jerricho Cotchery. Cornerback Jabari Greer stepped in front of Cotchery to intercept the pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown that had the stadium shaking and the Bills trailing just 23-17 with 10:53 left. It was the 300th interception of Favre's career.

But the Jets responded with what Favre called "the most important drive of our season," going 65 yards in 14 plays, with Jay Feely kicking a 31-yard field goal that made it 26-17 with 2:12 left. The drive, which included three third-down conversions, was mostly run-driven, with the offensive line imposing its will on the Bills. Favre completed all five of his passes for only 17 yards on a drive that featured a 23-yard run by Thomas Jones and, most important, took 8:41 off the clock.

"It was just gut-check time and our guys stepped up to it," said Favre, who earlier admitted to being "nervous as hell" when the drive started.

"Situation like that, we throw a pick but come right back out and just ram it right down the length of the field," right tackle Damien Woody said. "Mixing the run and the pass up, we just did what we wanted to do. But like I said last week, I feel like we're capable of doing that against anybody. But I think this was the first game where all phases of the game really complemented each other."

Which had not been the case in the three games after the bye week; the Jets went 2-1 but were undistinguished in doing so. The defense had played OK but was leaky against the pass and didn't create one turnover against three teams - the Bengals, Raiders and Chiefs - that entered yesterday a combined 3-19.

Darrelle Revis ended that drought on the Bills' second possession, blitzing from the corner on first-and-10 from the Bills' 15 and jarring the ball loose from Trent Edwards. Revis recovered at the 6, leading to Feely's 26-yard field goal that pulled the Jets to within 7-6.

Abram Elam, starting for the injured Eric Smith at safety, victimized Edwards on the final play of the first quarter, stepping in front of a pass intended for Roscoe Parrish in the left flat and returning it 92 yards for a touchdown to put the Jets ahead for good at 13-7. It tied for the third-longest interception return in franchise history.

Revis accounted for the Jets' third turnover, picking off Edwards (24-for-35, 289 yards, one TD, two INTs) in the end zone with 1:11 left in the game.

So for one day, it was about someone else's interceptions.

"You don't have to throw six touchdowns to win football games," Favre said about the game plan. "Believe me, that win feels as good as any win I have ever been a part of."

Marathon men

Abram Elam is the fifth Jet in franchise history with an interception return for a touchdown of 90 yards or longer.

PLAYER OPPONENT DATE

100 AARON GLENN At Miami 9/15/96

98 MARCUS COLEMAN At Miami 12/27/99

92 ABRAM ELAM At Buffalo 11/2/08

ERIK McMILLAN Indianapolis 10/1/89

90 MARCUS TURNER At Minnesota 11/20/94

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