The Jets snapped a five-game losing streak in their 21-13 Thursday night victory over the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium. After a mostly forgettable first half (61 total yards), the Jets (3-6) came alive and got interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich his first victory as the man in charge. Along the way, QB Aaron Rodgers tossed 3 TD passes -- one that will live on as one of the finest catches -- by Garrett Wilson -- in the franchise's 64-year history.
No. 1 -- Look Ma, One Hand
Trailing by 7-0, the Jets took the second-half kickoff and used 5:57 to drive 70 yards in 11 plays to tie the score. After four running plays to start the drive, Aaron Rodgers completed 5 of 6 passes, the final one a short toss over the middle to Garrett Wilson on second-and-12 as the Texans blitzed the QB. Wilson slipped the coverage of Jalen Pitre to make a terrific one-handed grab at the 15-yard line before bolting into the end zone.
No. 2 -- Fourth-Down Conversion Leads to ...
Houston took a 10-7 lead on a field goal late in the third quarter. The Jets' next drive, spanning the third and fourth quarters, took 6:17 and covered 70 yards in 12 plays. The key play on the drive came on fourth-and-1 at the Houston 48. Out of the shotgun, Aaron Rodgers connected on a pass along the home sideline to Davante Adams for 17 yards and a first down at the Houston 31-yard line. Adams went down hard on the play, was checked for a concussion and later returned to the game. That set the stage for what could be the catch of this year ... or any year.
No. 3 -- Simply Not Enough Superlatives
In the words of interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich: "Oh, my goodness."
Those words modestly sum up Garrett Wilson's epic one-handed catch that gave the Jets a lead they never relinquished. And had it not been for a holding call on RG Olu Fashanu (who replaced the injured Jake Hanson), which nullified Aaron Rodgers' 13-yard scramble to the Houston 3-yard line, it might never have happened. That left the Jets facing third-and-19 at the 26.
"When it was third-and-extra long, I was looking at the weak side safety, and I was like, if he drops down at all, just gonna say, screw it, I'm going to throw it up to G," said Rodgers. "I felt like I put it in a decent spot. But, yeah, I didn't do a whole lot when it comes down to it. I just kind of lobbed one up there. He made an unbelievable catch. When I saw the replay, it looked like he had knee [actually his shin] in so I thought, shoot, throw the challenge. Brick [Jeff Ulbrich] was already in front of me throwing it. But that was a huge play. First one was a huge play as well. But what was it third-and-20? Yeah. I mean, that's a game-changing play."
Fun fact: For the second week in a row, a Wilson catch in the end zone that was initially ruled incomplete, was overturned on video review.
No. 4 -- Houston Takes Points Off the Board
The Texans' next drive took them to the Jets' 10-yard line before Micheal Clemons' sack (his second of the game) of C.J. Stroud on third down pushed Houston back to the 25. Ka'imi Fairburn converted the field goal on fourth down, but Jets rookie Eric Watts was penalized for roughing the center. The Texans took the points off the board. Three plays later, at the 6:57 mark of the fourth quarter, the drive stalled at the Jets' 9-yard line, but this time Fairburn's kick hit the left upright and the score remained 14-10.
No. 5 -- Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams for the Clinching TD
Starting the drive with 6:54 left in the game and mixing runs by Breece Hall and short passes to Garrett Wilson, the Jets chopped three minutes off the clock. One of the key plays was a third-and-1 pass from Aaron Rodgers to TE Kenny Yeboah, 12 yards to the Houston 44. Two plays and a Texans time out later, Davante Adams sprang out of the slot down the Jets' sideline before hauling in a perfectly floated pass from Rodgers for a 37-yard TD that clinched the game. It was the 69th TD pass from Rodgers to Adams stretching back to the many seasons together in Green Bay.
