MIAMI – There were more than five minutes still to play in the game and all that remained in the Pro Player Stadium stands consisted of large pockets of fans wearing green jerseys with “Chrebet” and “Lewis” and “Martin” and “Testaverde” written across the backs.
It was a deliciously surreal scene for the Jets.
The “Shrek” green of those Jets’ jerseys clashed mightily with the thousands of empty, bright orange and aquamarine seats and the bellowing chants of “J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets” came from all corners of the stadium.
They were exhilarating moments for the Jets as they basked in the glow of their 24-0 rout of the Dolphins and wrested control of first place in the AFC East at 7-3.
The Jets forced five Miami turnovers – scoring on Aaron Glenn’s 60-yard INT return in the first quarter and Victor Green’s 63-yard return in the third – and rolled to their eighth win in a row over the 6-3 Dolphins. The victory also leaves them with their destiny in their hands.
If they win their final six games (Patriots, at Steelers, Bengals, at Colts, Bills, at Raiders) they take the AFC East and will host at least one home postseason game, possibly two.
The possibilities are positively tantalizing at the moment. On the other hand, the sights and sounds yesterday were utterly sickening for the home-team Dolphins.
“If we never see them again, I wouldn’t be mad,” Dolphins’ DE Jason Taylor said as he stood before his locker stall in the otherwise empty Miami locker room. “As far as I’m concerned [the NFL] can take them out of the division.”
Ah, but not so fast.
The Jets have business to tend to – winning the AFC East, earning a first playoff berth since the 1998 season and advancing in the postseason tournament.
With six games to play, the Jets own a half-game lead on the Dolphins that’s more like a 11/2-game edge because they’ve swept the season series. And, with the Colts losing yesterday in New Orleans, the Jets are 21/2-games up on Indianapolis.
“We’re 7-3 and in first place with a bye week coming up . . . I couldn’t have imagined anything better,” said Green, whose pick was one of three the Jets got against Miami QB Jay Fiedler.
“We feel like we’re getting our swagger back from 1998,” Vinny Testaverde said, referring to the Jets’ magical ride to the AFC Championship game.
One thing is certain after yesterday’s second consecutive complete performance by the Jets, who’ve now won four in a row and six of their last seven: If they could play the Dolphins every week from now until February, they’d surely be Super Bowl champions.
During the Jets’ eight-game stranglehold on the Dolphins, they’ve forced 26 turnovers and given the ball away only 11 times.
During their four-game winning streak, they’ve allowed a total of 28 points. Their defense, however, has yielded only 20 because the stretch includes a fumble return for a TD and a safety.
The Jets’ win makes them only the third NFL team in the last decade to begin a season 5-0 on the road. They, too, have set themselves up extremely well in tiebreaker possibilities with a division-best 4-1 record in AFC East and a 5-1 record in the AFC.
“The snowball’s starting to pick up steam,” said Jets’ CB Ray Mickens, who had a sack, forced fumble and a fumble recovery. “There’s a real positive feeling around here. I liken it to ’98. There’s that same feeling in the air.”
The feeling in the air yesterday was of sheer dominance on defense. In truth, the Jets didn’t need their offense to be prolific. Once the defense took over, the offense took the air out of the ball, knowing Miami could not move down the field.
