Crosby kicks Packers past Jets 9-0
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Ugly. Sloppy. And, perhaps, a little rusty.
It all added up to one big dud for the New York Jets.
Mason Crosby kicked three field goals for
Green Bay, and that was all the Packers needed as they held the Jets
off the scoreboard for a 9-0 victory Sunday.
"I wish we could play it again, do it over," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "But there are no do-overs in this league."
Good thing, since seeing this once was bad enough for the Jets.
"It felt embarrassing to be shut out at
home," right tackle Damien Woody said. "Our personnel and our coaching
staff is too good for us to be shut out at home."
Mark Sanchez and the Jets' offense
couldn't get much of anything going after a bye-week break. New York,
which entered tied for the league's best record, had its five-game
winning streak end. The Jets (5-2) were also shut out for the first
time since a 10-0 loss to Chicago on Nov. 19, 2006, at home.
"We love to be underdogs," Packers safety
Nick Collins said. "Everybody thinks the Jets are the team to win the
Super Bowl. We wanted to come in here and match their intensity and
show them that we can play with anybody."
The Packers (5-3) certainly did that,
although Aaron Rodgers and the offense didn't exactly light things up,
either. Still, they did just enough to win their second straight -- a
snoozer on a blustery day at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
"We wanted to come in here and prove to
everybody what we're all about," linebacker Clay Matthews said. "We've
had a few close losses that we thought we should have won. We let our
play do our talking."
The wind might have caused some problems
for both teams' passing and kicking games. Crosby and the Jets' Nick
Folk missed field goal attempts, while Sanchez and Rodgers misfired
often with balls sailing past receivers.
After turning the ball over on downs,
the Jets held the Packers to a three-and-out and had one more chance to
get into the end zone trailing 6-0 with less than 4 minutes left.
Following a 5-yard run by LaDainian
Tomlinson, Jerricho Cotchery couldn't hold onto a long pass from
Sanchez, who was sacked on the next play by Matthews. Sanchez then
threw incomplete to Braylon Edwards, and the Packers took over.
Crosby sealed it with a 40-yard field goal with 27 seconds left.
"We let one get away from us," Ryan said. "We just never got it done."
Rodgers, whom coach Mike McCarthy said
sprained an ankle during the game, finished 15 of 34 for 170 yards.
Sanchez was 16 of 38 for 256 yards and two interceptions -- both on
disputed calls -- and had at least four passes dropped by receivers.
"We left a lot of completions out there," Sanchez said. "It's just a poor job on my part."
The Jets had a nice drive end in the
fourth quarter when Dustin Keller caught a pass from Sanchez, rolled
and then had the ball grabbed out of his hands by Charles Woodson.
The Packers cornerback jogged into the
end zone while several players on both teams looked around bewildered.
Woodson was later ruled down by contact at the Packers 43.
Replays showed it should not have been
an interception, but New York was out of challenges after using them
both in the first half.
"From my standpoint, it looked like he was down," linebacker Calvin Pace said, "but I don't get paid to officiate."
The Packers capitalized on the turnover when Crosby gave them a 6-0 lead with a 41-yard field goal with 6:36 remaining.
The Jets had another promising drive
short-circuited in the second quarter when Tramon Williams ripped the
ball out of Cotchery's hands while the two were on the ground for an
interception. The play was challenged by Ryan, but upheld by replay
review.
"Don't get me started," Jets linebacker
Jason Taylor said when asked what he thought of the calls. "Unless
you're going to pay my fine."
It was a brutal first half for both
teams, and it didn't get much better in the second half. The Packers
finished with 237 total yards, while the Jets had 360 -- but were done
in by their seven penalties and three turnovers.
The Jets took a huge gamble on
fourth-and-18 from their own 20 early in the game as punter Steve
Weatherford took off on a fake and sprinted along the right sideline
for what initially appeared to be a first down. But McCarthy
challenged, and officials ruled Weatherford stepped out of bounds a
yard short of the first-down marker.
"We're a team that's willing to go out there and lay it on the line," Weatherford said. "It just didn't work out today."
Notes: Tomlinson joined Walter Payton as
the only players in NFL history with 13,000 yards rushing and 4,000
yards receiving. ... Crosby's 20-yard field goal in the opening quarter
accounted for the first points the Jets allowed in the first 15 minutes
this season. ... Packers wide receiver Donald Driver reaggravated a
quadriceps injury in the first half and did not return.