Jets Hand Titans Their First Defeat

NASHVILLE — Brett Favre dropped back and scanned the field, looking left, then right, like an indecisive bobblehead. He fired the football toward the back of the end zone, in the general proximity of receiver Laveranues Coles and three Titans defenders.

After the rocket pass settled into Coles’s hands, the crowd went silent as he landed on his back. From there, he raised both arms until they formed something of a V — which is exactly what the Jets got here Sunday.

A victory over the previously undefeated Titans, a decisive, dominating, lopsided 34-13 win in front of a packed and dumfounded crowd at L.P. Field.

This marked the Jets’ fifth-straight victory and their seventh win in eight games. It pulled the Jets into contention for a first-round playoff bye, tying them with the Steelers at 8-3 with five games left. (The Steelers own the tie-breaker.)

It followed a blowout win two weeks ago over the St. Louis Rams, which ranked as the largest margin of victory in franchise history. It followed a dramatic victory last week over New England, the Jets’ perennial division tormentors, on the road.

The Jets’ latest victory came against the undefeated Titans, again on the road, again against a team that the Jets were not supposed to beat. But this time, it was not quarterback Brett Favre who brought the Jets back, like he did against the Patriots.

It was their defense. The one that dominates while the Jets build leads, only to wobble to the finish.

But first, here came the perfect start, just as the Jets envisioned. The defense forced a Titans punt.

The Jets’ offense took over deep in their own territory, facing a Titans’ defense that ranked first in the N.F.L. in fewest points allowed, tied for second in interceptions and sixth in sacks — just to name a few statistical categories they have dominated during the team’s 10-0 start.

So naturally, the Jets moved down the field as if riding the moving walkway at the airport. Favre completed all six of his passes on the drive, for 72 yards. The capper came on a 10-yard screen pass to Thomas Jones, who caught the ball and scooted between linemen Alan Faneca and D’Brickashaw Ferguson for his 11th touchdown of the season. On the ground, Jones would finish with 96 yards on 27 carries.

Favre ran off the field, slapping helmets and backsides with aplomb, looking more of 29 years old than 39. His first incompletion came on his ninth pass. He would end the game completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Titans had won 13 straight before this game, including 10 to start the season. They had shown cracks the week before against the Jacksonville Jaguars, falling into a 14-3 hole only to climb out once again for victory.

This game was billed as a potential playoff preview between American Football Conference heavyweights, but, according to that boxing logic, the question remained whether the Jets could take a punch. Did they possess the same toughness as the Titans?

The Jets answered that question, at least in part, on the Titans’ second offensive drive. On one third down, the Titans sent LenDale White, their burly bruiser of a running back, up the middle. Nose tackle Kris Jenkins and safety Kerry Rhodes combined to make the stop.

Out broke a chorus of fist pumps on the Jets’ sideline. What was that they smelled? An upset in the making.

Turnovers kept the Jets from extending their lead. After good field position led the offense deep into Titans territory, running back Leon Washington was stripped by defensive end Jevon Kearse on the last play of the first quarter.

On the Jets’ next possession, again on third down, Favre forced a jump ball down the left sideline toward Coles. After a stretch this season where he threw seven interceptions in three games, Favre had settled down lately.

This throw, though, landed in the hands of Cortland Finnegan, the Titans’ cornerback, who is in the middle of a Pro Bowl season. This gave the Titans the ball at the Jets’ 41, but again Jenkins made another play, this time a deflection of a Kerry Collins’s pass on third down.

Despite the turnovers, the Jets extended their lead in the second quarter. At the Titans’ 2, Favre tried to float a pass to tight end Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone, but linebacker Keith Bulluck batted the ball away. The ensuing 20-yard field goal by Jay Feely gave the Jets a 10-0 lead.

The Titans answered back immediately, with a 12-play, 50-yard drive that led to a 43-yard field goal from Rob Bironas. The Jets led, 10-3, at half.

For those wondering if their first half had been a fluke, the Jets responded with a long, deliberate drive to start the third quarter. Using a mixture of runs and short passes, they advanced 66 yards in 13 plays, eating almost seven minutes off the clock. The result was a 30-yard field goal from Feely and a 13-3 Jets lead.

The Jets’ opportunistic defense gave the ball right back to the offense. It came when Chris Johnson, the Titans’ speedy rookie running back, found room up the left side of the field. Linebacker Eric Barton wrapped Johnson up, safety Abram Elam — starting again in place of the injured Eric Smith — ripped the ball free and linebacker Bryan Thomas recovered the ball.

That led to the Coles’s touchdown and a 20-3 Jets lead. And then the Jets made this game interesting, as they tend to.

They allowed another Titans field goal, watched Leon Washington, their best player, turn another routine play into a touchdown, then sat back in another prevent-style defense and watched the Titans drive down field for their own score, on a pass from Collins to Ahmard Hall. Collins ended 21 of 39 for 243 yards and that touchdown.

By then, the Jets led, 27-13, with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Most of the Titans’ fans remained, their undefeated season hanging in the balance.

After a pass-interference call went against the home team, the fans booed after every play, chanting at the refs. After another call went against the Titans, the sound intensified.

The Jets, meanwhile, kept plugging ahead, eating time, moving forward. Washington scored again from 2 yards out, and the Titans fans headed for the exits.

Tags: Sport