Happy Thanksgiving everybody! We have a special treat tonight after our big Thanksgiving dinners. Huddle around the television with your family and loved ones as the 8-2 Jets host the 2-8 Cincinnati Bengals in the primetime game tonight.
The Jets sure have made things tough for themselves lately, winning each of their last 3 games on their final drive. The Jets are coming off one of their most exciting finishes of the season, while the Bengals are coming off an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. The Bengals led 31-14 at the half, but allowed 35 unanswered points in the second half, losing 49-31 in the ugliest of fashions.
The Jets will look to come out hot and take the early lead, but we have said this the last 3 weeks as well. The defense is looking for redemption after blowing a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter last week. It’s about time the Jets blow a team away, and the Bengals are the perfect team to do it against. They have not seen many ups this season and are a team that was expected to play well, but has significantly underachieved. Unlike the Lions and the Browns, they did not have the hope of playing spoiler all season, as they were supposed to be contenders.
Last season, the Jets defeated the Bengals in week 17 to clinch a playoff spot, and then defeated them again the next week in their AFC Wildcard playoff game. Shonn Greene was one of the biggest factors in those victories and will look to factor into this one as well. Greene had a costly fumble last week against the Texans that helped put them back into the game in the 4th quarter. The Jets rushing game has been less than stellar since their week 5 win against the Vikings, but still manages to be ranked 4th in the NFL. Dustin Keller also had a big game in that postseason win over the Bengals last year. His number has not been called much lately, but he’s always there to make that big 3rd down catch.
The Jets will once again need to keep things simple to win this one, but they love close games so don’t be surprised if the Bengals manage to stick with them until the very end. The Jets are finding ways to win however they can in this special season, mostly because of the improved and more mature play of second year quarterback, Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has put himself in the MVP talks now with his clutch performances at the end of close games, and Jets fans can be confident in their young quarterback to win the game on that final drive. Let’s just hope he doesn’t need to do that tonight. Again, Happy Thanksgiving, and GO JETS!
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