Gang Green Nation. For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog. Follow the rest of preseason week one at SB Nation NFL.
It's tough to get a whole lot out of the second half of the first preseason game of the season, but the New York Jets and Houston Texans will probably be satisfied with the performances that they got out of their backups on Monday night. Both teams should feel a little more confident in their depth, particularly on the defensive side of the ball after the game. Not that it's of any particular importance in Week 1 of preseason, but Houston were the proclaimed winners in a game which apparently had a winner, winning by a final score of 20-16.
The biggest winners might be third string quarterbacks Greg McIlroy and T.J. Yates, who made good progress towards winning roster spots with good performances. However, both were good and not great, as both teams' backup defenses looked very solid.
Texans' rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed were both impressive, while Xavier Adibi also looked fantastic. The Jets' defensive MVP was Josh Muaga, who had an absolute monster of a game with a sack, two tackles for a loss, two quarterback hits, and an interception.
In Week 2 of the preseason, the Jets take on the Cincinnati Bengals at home while the Texans host the
New Orleans Saints.
For more on the Jets head over to Gang Green Nation. For more on the Texans, check out
Battle Red Blog. Follow the rest of preseason week one at SB Nation NFL.
Jets Vs. Texans Score: Halftime, Texans Lead Behind Quality Performance By Matt Leinart
Unsurprisingly, the interesting parts of the first half of the preseason game between the New York Jets
and Houston Texans had nothing to do with the starters. Much like a lot of the other games in Week 1 of preseason, the stars only played for a series or two and looked entirely average. Things got fun when the second stringers came out, and the Texans have taken a 13-3 halftime lead thanks to great performances by
Matt Leinart and their defense.
Yes, that Matt Leinart has looked very good in relief of Matt Schaub. Unlike most of his appearances with the
Arizona Cardinals, Leinart has been very accurate, has some zip on his passes, and most surprisingly, is getting the ball out of his hand quickly. He's 7/11 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown, and that includes a couple of drops by his receivers.
His go-to man has been Chris Ogbonnaya, the Texans' third string running back. Arian Foster
is out injured while Derrick Ward had to leave the game early, so it's been Ofbonnaya's time to shine. He's been average running the ball, rushing for 32 yards on 12 carries, but he has four receptions for an impressive 54 yards.
Going the other way, Greg McIlroy is not having a good outing for the Jets. In his defense, his receivers and blockers are not having a great game either, but he's had a couple of extremely errant passes and was lucky to have an interception that was entirely his fault called back for illegal contact.
The biggest story on defense for the Texans has been rookie Brooks Reed, who looks like a monster. He has one pass defensed on a perfectly anticipated play at the line as well as two hits on McIlroy that forced incompletions.
For more on the Jets head over to Gang Green Nation. For more on the Texans, check out
Battle Red Blog. Follow the rest of preseason week one at SB Nation NFL.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez leads his team into the preseason opener against Houston tonight.
Houston was where the Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez era began back in 2009 with a 24-7 win in Week 1. And although we're only in the preseason, it does feel a little like new beginnings as the Jets take the field for the first time since the lockout. Without Jerricho Cotchery or Braylon Edwards, missing Kris Jenkins and Shaun Ellis, the team will look to start to forge a new identity tonight.
Here's a primer on what to look for
with some key players we're keeping an eye on, as well as some that are flying under the radar.
Check back often for updates ...
Our beat writer on the scene, Jenny Vrentas, has the full story here.
4th Quarter, 0:00: Looks like McElroy didn't see anything there, scrambled for a little then threw the ball more than a few yards past the line of scrimmage. Game over.
4th Quarter, 0:09: From the 20, the Jets will have one more shot at the end zone for the win after Baker hauls one in for a gain of 22.
4th Quarter, 0:33: The Texans place one of their starters, Reed, back in the game as a pass-rusher. McElroy delivers a perfect pass to Michael Campbell but it's dropped in the end zone. Ryan doesn't look too happy there.
4th Quarter, 0:43: Baker catches another, this time running through an arm tackle and getting another first down. Jets at the Texans' 46-yard line.
4th Quarter, 1:02: McElroy sidesteps another sack, steps up and drills Josh Baker for another first down. Jets now at their own 45-yard line.
4th Quarter, 1:40: McElroy, still out there, shakes off another sack, spins out and scrambles for the first down at the 32-yard line.
4th Quarter, 1:56: Led by Vickers, Ogbonnaya bulls into the end zone without much protest. Looks like Ellis was shaken up a bit, too.
4th Quarter, 2:24: That didn't take long. Yates throws one up for Jean, who hauls it in over Chris Jennings and Emmanuel Cook and gets it down to the 1/2-yard line.
4th Quarter, 3:20: Facing a third-and-13, McElroy is sacked by a pack of Texans. Rushers coming from both the right and left side, looks like Pete Clifford was the only Jets OL to hold his block there. Texans return the ball inside Jet territory.
4th Quarter, 5:00: Jets blitzing on third-and-10 and Yates overthrows his target thanks to some nice pressure by Ellis Lankster. The Jets will take over at their own 18-yard line.
4th Quarter, 6:00: Yates, from North Carolina, in now for the Texans and hits Lestar Jean for a big gain, putting them just eight yards from midfield.
4th Quarter, 6:25: Apologize for the technical difficulties here. But back just in time for Nick Folk to drill a 40-yard field goal, giving the Jets a lead. McElroy hit Cumberland and Kerley to set them up in range (also credit a few nice runs by Powell).
4th Quarter, 14:50: The Texans will take over on their own 34-yard line after losing double-digit yards on the punt return. Nice coverage there from the second and third string punt team.
3rd Quarter, 4:00: An incomplete pass on third-and-6 forces the Texans to punt. Dan DePalma, a Verona native, returns it back to the Jets 44 yard line (a gain of 22). Jets go three-and-out, though.
3rd Quarter, 5:50: The Texans take over at the 22-yard line and go right back to the run game. On defense right now, Jets have Kenrick Ellis, Marcus Dixon and Muhammad Wilkerson up front. Interesting that Wilkerson is still getting some reps late in the game.
3rd Quarter, 6:00: McElroy hits Patrick Turner, touchdown. Turner looked back after about three steps off the line, bodied up the cornerback and took it in.
3rd Quarter, 6:06: A pass to Powell gets the Jets to the 1-yard line, but he's stuffed the next two plays, third down.
3rd Quarter, 8:00: Kenrick Ellis tips a Leinart pass that is intercepted by Josh Mauga, and the Jets will take over at Houston's 20-yard line.
3rd Quarter, 8:25: Novak hits a 35-yard field goal to put the Jets within a touchdown. A Landolt false start put the Jets into a third-and-18 situation. McElroy scrambled but didn't get a pass off.
**UPDATE: Joe McKnight has a head injury, and is questionable to return.
3rd Quarter, 10:42: McElroy hits Cumberland in the open field for a 25-yard gain. Jets now at the Houston 13-yard line.
**UPDATE: OL Chris Stewart hurt his shoulder, questionable to return.
3rd Quarter, 13:35:: McElroy has a much better start to the second half. Completed passes to Kerley (9 yards), Cumberland (10 yards) and Powell (11 yards). Jets are at the Houston 45.
3rd Quarter, 14:52:And we're off for the second half. After a touchback, the Jets will start from their own 20-yard line.
Rex Ryan on the first half: "It pretty much went like we thought it would. We played pretty well. I like the way that Mark (Sanchez) got both (Derrick) Mason and Santonio (Holmes) both a couple of shots in there. Obviously you don't like seeing the quarterback get hit - we gave up a couple sacks with that unit. That was disappointing."
2nd Quarter, 0:00: McElroy sacked by Adibi to end the half.
**UPDATE: Joe McKnight returning kicks now. Took his first for 26 yards to the Jets 19-yard line.
2nd Quarter, 0:57: Rackers nails a 47-yard field goal. Jets defense regroups a little, with Lowery just missing a sack on Leinart that would have put Houston out of field goal range.
2nd Quarter, 1:32: Leinart and Ogbonnaya are shredding the Jets second-team defense here. Already gains of 16, 5, 8, 3 on the last four plays. Timeout with the Texans at the Jets 32-yard line.
2nd Quarter, 2:30: McElroy goes long to Kerley on third-and-28. Actually looked like Kerley had a shot at it once the Texans defender hit the ground, but the pass falls incomplete. Chris Bryan wasn't happy with the ensuing punt, either. Texans take over at the 24.
2nd Quarter, 4:00: Jets try an end-around to Kerley but he's flattened by Tim Jamison for a loss of nine. A holding penalty on Kroul makes it second-and-28.
2nd Quarter, 4:33: Since the penalty, McElroy has been rolling. Jets are now in Houston territory.
2nd Quarter, 7:23:McElroy picked off on third-and-10 by Molden but the play is overturned after Molden is called for illegal hands to the face.
2nd Quarter, 7:35: : Kerley with another solid kickoff return, bringing this one out to the 26-yard line (gain of 34).
2nd Quarter, 7:45: TOUCHDOWN: After the timeout (which was because the Jets had 12 men on the field) the Jets defense seemed to respond, stuffing Ogbonnaya for no gain. But on the next play, Leinart hits him on a play-action pass for the score. Nobody within 10 feet of Ogbonnaya.
2nd Quarter, 8:46: Texans go for it on fourth-and-1 on the Jets 4-yard line and convert. Ryan calls a timeout and spikes his headset, doesn't look too happy right now. Jets were showing an eight-man front on the goal line. Among those in: Nick Bellore, Dixon, Ropati, Ellis.
2nd Quarter, 10:43: Kenrick Ellis in along with Ropati, and Marcus Dixon on the line. The Texans are cruising, though. Down inside the 5-yard line.
2nd Quarter, 11:04: McElroy gets absolutely crushed by Jesse Nading on third-and-16. Nading comes straight around Ducasse, who is not having the best of games, and plants him, forcing the fumble deep in Jet territory.
** UPDATE: Turner has a lower leg injury, the Jets announce. He will not return.
2nd Quarter, 11:28: McElroy leading the second-team offense with Joe McKnight in the backfield. McKnight goes for nine yards on his first carry. Felix has a facemask, though, and pushes the Jets right back again.
2nd Quarter, 13:00:Matt Leinart breaks things wide open with a big play-action pass to Ogbonnaya that goes for 29 yards all the way to the Jets' 31-yard line. Sets up a 49-yard field goal from Rackers.
END OF THE FIRST: Mark Sanchez is likely done and finishes the night 6/7 for 43 yards. Shonn Greene had five rushes for 32 yards and Derrick Mason led all receivers with three catches for 21 yards.
Sanchez was sacked twice.
1st Quarter, 1:05: TJ Conley gets the nod in a big spot here and nearly pins the Texans at their own 1-yard line. Looks like the ball dropped a few feet in front of the goal line but it was a tough position for Brodney Pool to down it. Texans will start from their own 20.
1st Quarter, 1:45: With only two regular starters on the O-line left, the Jets will run on third-and-8 to keep Sanchez safe. Tomlinson goes for a gain of four.
1st Quarter, 2:14: After seeing a replay, it looks like Turner got tripped up by Texans rookie J.J. Watt. Watt crushed Ducasse on that play and made the initial contact on that Sanchez sack.
**UPDATE: Rob Turner down, getting looked at by the medical staff. Robby Felix (third-string center) warming up on the sidelines.
1st Quarter, 4:00: Led by John Conner and Wayne Hunter, Shonn Greene powers 20 yards on the draw play. Jets are now in Texans territory.
1st Quarter, 5:12: Sanchez hits Mason on second-and-10 with a nice quick slant. First down.
** Interesting note from our writer on the scene, Jenny Vrentas about the Jets third-down defensive line
.
1st Quarter, 5:19: Jets force the Texans to punt. Kyle Wilson covering on the pass intended for Kevin Walter. The Jets will start on their own 21. Kerley brought it out to the 31, but Ellis Lankster called for the hold.
1st Quarter, 6:19 Schaub had Daniels wide open there but just overthrew him, looks like he had a step or two on Eric Smith (might have bitten on the play-action). Texans have a third-and-7.
1st Quarter, 7:41: Ward, the Texans running back, being taken off the field after that tackle from Eric Smith. Texans down to two RB's for the day. After that offsides penalty on Muhammad Wilkerson the Texans will have a second-and-2.
1st Quarter, 8:39: Houston will start at their own 10-yard line. Logan Payne on the tackle for the Jets.
1st Quarter, 9:11: Sanchez sacked on third-and-6, which sets up a 33-yard field goal for Nick Folk. Sanchez finishes the drive 4/4, Holmes had two catches for 17 yards and Mason, the new guy, had one for four yards.
UPDATE: Trainers working on Scott's left knee. ESPN saying it's nothing serious.
1st Quarter, 11:00:: Jets offense looking strong here on the first series out of the gate. Sanchez is 3/3 for 22 yards already. Jets down to the Texans' 14-yard line.
1st quarter, 13:35: Josh Mauga, in for Scott, with a huge sack on Schaub for a loss of 11 yards. Texans will punt.
1st Quarter, 14:00: Bart Scott hobbled off the field after that kickoff, not a good sign to start, will update when we hear something.
1st Quarter, 15:00: Folk gets it into the end zone, and the Texans will roll up to the 18-yard line.
Things we learned Monday night about the New York Jets:
Well, they have tough quarterbacks. Mark (Cover Boy) Sanchez wanted to fight his coach last season -- he said so in the current issue of GQ magazine -- and rookie Greg McElroy
was sacked five times and absorbed several other hits, yet he kept on slinging it in a 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans.