National Football League

Jets back up coach's talk, deal Patriots 16-9 defeat

Published Sep. 21, 2009 8:02 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

Talking the talk and walking the walk against New England are two different things.

The New York Jets showed they could do both.

The mouths that spent an entire week roaring at the Patriots backed their words Sunday with a 16-9 home win.

It wasn't quite the "embarrassment" New York safety Kerry Rhodes hoped to deliver against a team that had humiliated the Jets with eight consecutive victories at Giants Stadium. But Gang Green still has plenty to boast about. New England hadn't been held without a touchdown in three seasons or lost to a rookie quarterback like Mark Sanchez since 2004.

Now 2-0 and atop the AFC East, New York proved first-year head coach Rex Ryan's proud assertions about his team weren't hot air.