The Play That Saved The Jets' Season
The interception return for a touchdown by Darrelle Revis will - deservedly so - make all of the highlight reels as one of the best plays in the NFL in Week 6.
And it was certainly an important play for the Jets, giving them a lead against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night that they wouldn't give back.
But I'm here to tell you that the most important play of the game for the Jets wasn't Revis' interception and return - it was actually what happened two plays earlier.
And it may not have been just the most important play of the game.
It may have turned around the entire Jets season.
Allow me to refresh your memory: The Dolphins had just opened the scoring, taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. The Jets defense looked strong around the goal line - you had the impression they were going to be tough against Miami all night.
But then the Jets flubbed the kickoff, with the ball bouncing off a blocker and right to the Dolphins at the 18-yard line. On the Dolphins' first play, Daniel Thomas bounced out of traffic, and started to go towards the outside. Like many Jets fans, I'm sure, I held my breath, because the Jets hadn't been stopping the run in this game, their previous game in New England, or two weeks ago at Oakland.
But then Jim Leonhard came flying into the picture to bring down Thomas for only a gain of three.
Instead of a 10-0 Dolphins lead, which had the potential to be back-breaking to the offensively-challenged Jets, there was another run stop and then Matt Moore threw it right to Darrelle Revis. 7-3 Jets, and they were on their way.
A win against the winless Dolphins isn't going to make everyone believe in the Jets again. It's not going to put them back on people's minds as a legitimate contender in the NFL. Next week's game against the San Diego Chargers will help in that department.
But the Jets head into that game at 3-3 rather than 2-4. They might not have solved all of their problems Monday night, but they're now riding a one-game winning streak rather than a 4-game losing streak.
They have many players to thank for that.
Prime among them, in my opinion, should be Jim Leonhard for his first quarter game - no, season-saving tackle.
