EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Despite a depleted roster, a maligned defense and a quarterback situation that seemed more and more unsustainable by the day, here the Jets were: late fourth quarter, trailing undefeated Houston by 6 points, the football in their possession. Precisely how they arrived at that moment was somewhat of a mystery, especially to the fans who for a good portion of Monday night made MetLife Stadium sound as cold and unforgiving as Radio City Music Hall after an unpopular draft selection.
Indeed, when Mark Sanchez was shown on a video screen after being selected by the team in 2009, the crowd booed. However, the Jets' methodology for a victory that would fall somewhere between astonishing and are-you-serious could be dissected later, for they had an opportunity, which is all they ever wanted, all they ever expected of themselves.
When Sanchez's pass deflected off Jeff Cumberland's hands high into the air, there was little doubt what would happen next. Kareem Jackson of the Texans snatched the ball, his interception sealing a 23-17 loss for the Jets.
The national television audience that tuned in might have done so out of curiosity, eager to gauge the Texans' talent, to see Tim Tebow unleashed (maybe, just maybe), to witness a potentially historic margin of victory. That last desire was not without merit, not with Houston outscoring its first four opponents by 70 points and the Jets, well — they were outscored by 34 points just last week.
And yet, the Jets' defense, smarting after allowing 245 rushing yards against San Francisco, held Houston to 6 points after halftime. And yet, Sanchez, who over the last three games had completed 43.6 percent of his passes (44 of 101) in leading the Jets to one touchdown in 34 possessions, kept the Jets close.
Sanchez completed 14 of 31 for 230 yards. He was aided by Joe McKnight, whose 100-yard kickoff return drew the Jets to within 20-14 in the third quarter, and by Tim Tebow, who absorbed the majority of the crowd's affection.
"I think he played better than his numbers indicated," Coach Rex Ryan said of Sanchez.
When he ran onto the field, the fans cheered. When he ran off it, they booed. On it went. As did the Jets' rash of injuries, which claimed their best offensive lineman, Nick Mangold, with a right ankle injury, and one of their few remaining healthy receivers, Clyde Gates, who injured his shoulder. Other prominent Jets not playing: Santonio Holmes, Darrelle Revis, Dustin Keller, Sione Po'uha, Stephen Hill and John Conner. Wesley Walker and Mark Gastineau, inducted into the team's ring of honor at halftime, did not volunteer to play.
Trailing, 23-17, with about 10 minutes remaining, the Jets advanced to the Houston 35 before a 5-yard sack by J. J. Watt knocked them out of field-goal range. When their defense responded by stuffing Arian Foster, who rushed for 152 yards, on third-and-1 at the Houston 41, the Jets' offense advanced as far as its own 40 before Jackson's interception.
"The thing that's upsetting, I think, is we helped them," Ryan said. "Clearly they are a good football team. They don't need any help."
The mood around the locker room all week smacked of we're-better-than-this optimism and how-dare-you defiance, emotions produced by a trouncing so thorough that the Jets' very pride was called into question. In a radio interview, San Francisco cornerback Carlos Rogers intimated that the Jets' defense quit in the fourth quarter. When his unit convened Wednesday, the defensive coordinator Mike Pettine distributed copies.
"We're going to swing, that's for sure," Ryan said. "We're not going to just take it."
Ryan did his part with some bold strategy Monday night. An onside kick after the McKnight touchdown was unsuccessful, but Tebow turned a fake punt into a first down.
Instead of guaranteeing victories, Ryan now guarantees effort. Seems like a safer play, at least for now. So the Jets, heeding their coach, did put forth terrific effort on the Texans' first possession. They just neglected to play defense — no, really. On the touchdown that capped a ruthlessly efficient 85-yard drive, three members of the secondary were so badly fooled by Matt Schaub's play fake that Owen Daniels seemingly had time to translate Beowulf into Mandarin — after learning Mandarin — before catching the 34-yard pass.
The Jets' first two plays were emblematic of the season: a rush for no yards by Shonn Greene, an incompletion by Sanchez. On cue, chants for Tebow rang out.
Tebow alone cannot rescue the Jets; this much was made painfully obvious when he lofted a beautiful deep pass that landed in Jason Hill's hands. It did not stay there. Considering how depleted the Jets' corps is, Antonio Cromartie's training camp boast of being their second-best receiver did not seem so fanciful. Especially when he picked off a Schaub pass intended for Andre Johnson, giving the Jets field position at the Houston 43.
Given a shorter field, Sanchez engineered a touchdown drive, culminating in an acrobatic 27-yard catch by Cumberland.
Having driven the Jets 81 yards in the closing minutes of the first half, Sanchez was in position to lead the team to a field goal or a game-tying touchdown. In the same area of the field, at the same point in the game as when Sanchez committed a critical turnover last week against San Francisco, his pass was tipped by Watt and intercepted by Brice McCain, whose 86-yard return allowed Houston to extend its lead to 17-7 before halftime.
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