The playoff hopes of the Seahawks got a big boost on Sunday afternoon while the light just about went out on the Jets’ chances of advancing to the postseason.
Seattle took total control of the game in the second half, totally smothering the Jets offense and then chipping away at an exhausted Jets defense for a 28-7 win that improves their record to 6-4 on the year. Depending on the results of the 49ers game against the Rams, Seattle may be just a half-game out of first place as they head into their bye week. They got there by riding the same formula they’ve been riding all season.
The defense held the Jets to 185 total yards and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown while forcing three turnovers. Rookie Bruce Irvin had two sacks, cornerback Richard Sherman had an interception and got credited with a forced fumble when Mark Sanchez simply dropped the ball when he saw Sherman bearing down on a blitz. The Seahawks turned that turnover into their final touchdown of the day, a bit of razzamatazz that had wide receiver Golden Tate throwing a touchdown to Sidney Rice, and just waited for the clock to run out from there.
Outside of that trickery, the Seahawks played things pretty straight. They rammed Marshawn Lynch, who finished with 124 yards on 27 carries, into the defense over and over again until they finally broke and Russell Wilson made plays with his legs and arms while limiting his major mistakes to a first-half fumble. The Jets defense held up until the fourth, but the wall crumbled as the offense kept on redefining useless in the second half.
Sanchez finished the day 9-of-22 for 124 yards in the kind of skittish, unacceptable performance that has become all too common this season. Tim Tebow got a bit more time and actually threw three passes, but Rex Ryan kept sending Sanchez out on the field in hopes of some kind of transformation occurring that turned him into a successful quarterback. There are plenty of other problems with the Jets offense, to be sure, but the guy leading them has made it clear this season that he isn’t going to lead them anywhere good.
We’ll see if the Jets keep trying the same thing in hopes of getting a different result, but there’s no evidence to support that notion. The only thing that’s going to save their season is a miracle and they might as well see if the guy who authored them in Denver has anything left up his sleeve.