The Jets' three players and three plays of the game from their 30-8 victory over the Titans at MetLife Stadium on Sunday:
Players of the Game
DE Muhammad Wilkerson — Wilkerson hadn't had a three-sack game in his five-year Jets career until Sunday, when he took down Marcus Mariota three times for 27 yards of losses. The last was a strip sack, Mo's second of the season, the sixth of his career, and the Jets' seventh this season. His 12 sacks are a personal best and, along with his 10.5 sacks in 2013, are the team's only two double-digit sack seasons in the last 10 years.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick — Fitzpatrick finished with a Fitz-ian passing line of 21-for-36 for 263 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Five TD strikes in the final three games will give him a franchise-record 30. He hasn't thrown an INT in his last 123 passes, and he's been mystical in the red zone, throwing for two more touchdowns to give him 19 TDs and no INTs inside the opponents' 20. Finally, Fitzpatrick ran three times for 23 yards, one 19 yards for a first down and another for a fourth-and-a-foot conversion.
WR Brandon Marshall — Marshall's 13 games are already enough to stand next to the great WR seasons in franchise history. Sunday he had six catches for 125 yards and a touchdown, with 100 yards by halftime. It was his eighth 100-yard receiving game for the Jets, trailing only Don Maynard's nine 100-yarders in 1967. His season totals of 89 receptions 1,187 yards and 11 TDs are all within team-record range, and he would break the receptions record Saturday night at Dallas with a mere five catches.
Plays of the Game
Buster Skrine interception of Marcus Mariota, 13:33 to play, second quarter — Nominee for Best Defensive Sight Adjustment of the Year That We Know Of. Skrine pulled up on a blitz to follow RB Dexter McCluster on his route because he recognized the play from video study. The Jets showed a max third-down blitz, then sent five. MLB David Harris muscled past RB Antonio Andrews' pickup to hurry Mariota's high throw over McCluster's head to Skrine, who returned to the Titans 35. It was Mariota's first road INT of the season and Skrine's first pick as a Jet, and it set up Randy Bullock's second FG.
Brandon Marshall 69-yard TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick, 1:35 to play, second quarter — Theoretically, the Titans might still have staged a comeback from 20-0 down at the half. But this play dashed those thoughts. Coming back off a commercial break, ref Jerome Boger had the ball ready for play but the Titans, experiencing sideline headset problems, couldn't get a play call to the defense and no one ran out to cover Marshall split wide right. Fitzpatrick moved from shotgun to under center to take Nick Mangold's snap, took one step, planted and hit Marshall at the Jets 38, and he took it the last 62 yards, outrunning 305-pound DT Jurrell Casey and stiff-arming S Michael Griffin on his beeline to the pylon.
Harry Douglas 51-yard pass from Marcus Mariota, Calvin Pryor tackle, 13:34 to play, fourth quarter — Theoretically again, the visitors were in a three-score game trying to make it two scores early in the final frame, and they almost did it on this play. Their left-side rub worked perfectly as Antonio Cromartie was knocked down and Douglas caught the Mariota pass uncovered at the Titans 20 and seemingly was off to the races up the middle of the Jets defense. Except that Pryor won a 35-yard sprint to bring Douglas down by his shoelaces at the Jets 34. There followed two more sacks of Mariota and the last threat against the Jets this day, as unlikely as it was, was over.
