Week 15 - Thursday


'68 Jets vs. '00 Ravens

The Jets traveled to Baltimore to kick off Week 15 of LFL action. So many spots are still up for the playoffs, but with a loss here the Jets are likely out of shots. A loss for the Ravens, and they end up competing with the Bengals for wildcard chances.

With over 71,000 screaming fans at M&T Bank Stadium, lets tune into the action.

The Ravens grabbed the opening possession, and were able to quickly drive in range for Banks to hit Ismail on an 11 yard pass. Several minutes later, they'd top their efforts with a FG to go up 10-0 at 2nd quarter.

Having stopped the Jets for the 1st quarter, the Ravens D would find itself struggling in the 2nd quarter, as Joe Namath started lighting up the field. Despite settling for a FG twice, Namath threw a 33 yard pass to Maynard for a score. With the Jets D holding the Ravens back, the Jets went up 13-10 at half.

The Jets would continue to hold the Ravens back in the 3rd quarter, and Namath continued to work his magic, throwing a short TD pass to Sauer.

Despite struggles on offense, the Ravens would get a break with Jerome Lewis returning a punt 64 yards for a score. This made the 20-17 lead for the Jets in Q4 uncomfortable for both teams.

Baltimore would start getting their offense moving again, with Jamal Lewis scoring early in the 4th quarter to give the Ravens a slight edge. But several minutes later, with poor ball position, the Jets would get a Safety on Baltimore, shortening the lead.

More importantly, for the Ravens, Namath was not slowing down his attack, and would drive the Jets down for yet a 3rd FG to take a 1 point lead. Worse, this left just 2 minutes on the game clock. Would the Ravens make it?

Banks put together a good drive, and despite not making it to the red zone, was able to set up Stover for a 41 yard FG to put Baltimore back on top.

With just 1 minute, a Baltimore victory was almost certain. As only Namath could do, however, a long pass was floated to Sauer and brought in for a 47 yard TD. With that, the Jets get the late win 32-27.

 Namath was 21-33, but with a 16 yards/per catch average, gained over 330 yards on the day. With 3 TD's and 0 INT's,  and a longest throw of 53 yards, it's not hard to see how much Joe was in control all game. Sauer, his favorite target, took 8 of those grabs for 197 yards and accounting for 2 of the 3 TD's.  Banks was also 22-33 but only had 205 yards with 1 TD. For as great as both defenses are, neither came up heavy with sacks or INT's. This game was simply a classic shootout.

With the NY win, the conferences look no less clearer for the playoff picture. Each division now has 2 or 3 teams tied for 2nd place, with the 1st place team only 1 loss away from dropping in place.

 MVP

 No decision yet on league MVP, but some more thoughts to share. I've considered other candidates, and I think Jim Taylor is an obvious choice. From week 1 it was clear he had the ability to shock the league with some long, shocking TD runs. He hasn't slowed down since, continued to have huge runs each week for crucial TD scores. His rushing has helped give the Packers win after win, taking pressure off Starr. He has helped the Packers every bit as Sanders has helped Detroit.

Still more thoughts on this are needed, including a look at defensive players as well as wide receivers. A decision likely won't be made until the final week of play, so stay tuned!

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