The Turning Point?
Whew.
I'll admit, I was nervous.
Things certainly looked dicey for the Jets for a little while there.
But they finished strong, putting the ugliness behind them and coming out on top.
What looked like it was going to be devastating turned out to be a bump in the road - a road that led to the ultimate goal.
I'm talking about the Jets win on Sunday against San Diego...but in some ways I could be talking about the Jets 2011 season as a whole.
Of course, only time will tell if the Jets reach their "ultimate goal" - a Super Bowl championship. But they certainly looked like the contenders they're supposed to be on Sunday, as opposed to the team that had disappointed three of the previous four weeks.
And Sunday's game was somewhat microcosmic of the Jets season so far.
There was the rough start - on Sunday it was the 'fumble' return by the Chargers on the Jets first possession that put San Diego up 7-0. (I put fumble in quotes because though it was ruled a fumble, I can't really fault Dustin Keller - the ball was thrown behind him, and in my opinion his bobble of that poorly thrown pass led to the fact that he ended up having the ball stripped away from him.)
Of course, the team was emerging from its own rough start, having not impressed many with their win over Miami the previous week. That win got them back to .500 after a 3-game losing streak had them at 2-3.
There was the turning point - until I am proven wrong, I maintain that the Jim Leonhard play last week saved the Jets season. It may be given a run for its money, though, by the first of Plaxico Burress' three touchdowns on Sunday. Down 14-3, the Jets got to the 3-yard line and had two unsuccessful scoring attempts to face a 3rd down. I sensed the whole stadium was nervous watching the Jets run their play - when the pass was caught by Burress I picked up on a stadium-wide sense of relief that the Jets got the touchdown rather than the usual unadulterated joy that accompanies such a score.
That showed the Jets, I think, that they could get in the end zone against this Chargers team, and instilled them with some needed confidence the rest of the way.
The Jets defense had a strong - incredibly strong - second half, and the offense managed to eat up yardage all game against San Diego.
If the Jets continue to play well, many will point to this Chargers game as a turning point in the Jets 2011 season.
Or the second half of the Jets' 2011 season will simply remind them an awful lot of the second half of a certain game in late October.
