NFL Game Summary - Minnesota at NY Jets
(Monday, October 11th)
Final Score: NY Jets 29, Minnesota 20
East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Shonn Greene scored a touchdown with
4:30 remaining and Dwight Lowery sealed the victory with a 26-yard
interception return for a score, as the New York Jets held off the Minnesota
Vikings, 29-20, in a game filled with storylines.
The most intriguing story being the start of Randy Moss' second stint with the
Vikings, who acquired the All-Pro wideout from the Patriots on Wednesday.
Moss, who started his career with seven star-studded seasons in Minnesota
(1998-2004), caught four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Mark Sanchez completed 21-of-44 passes for 191 yards for the Jets (4-1), who
got five field goals from Nick Folk in a game that was delayed 45 minutes at
the start due to lightning.
Greene carried the ball 10 times for 57 yards, while LaDainian Tomlinson
rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries for New York, which has won four straight
games since opening the season with a loss to the Ravens.
Brett Favre, who played for the Jets in 2008, connected on 14-of-34 passes for
264 yards, three touchdowns and a pick for the Vikings (1-3), who were coming
off a bye week. Favre became the first player in NFL history to throw 500 TD
passes and record 70,000 passing yards.
Percy Harvin caught five passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Adrian
Peterson carried the ball 18 times for 88 yards.
"There's a lot of football left. With all the mistakes that we made tonight,
we still had a chance to win the game and that's encouraging," Favre said.
Trailing 12-0 early in the third quarter, the Vikings' offense finally came
alive. Minnesota converted three third downs on a 10-play, 72-yard drive.
Faced with a 3rd-and-17 from the Jets' 37-yard line, Favre launched a deep
pass down the right sideline. The football fell into the hands of Moss in the
end zone with 2:10 left.
Brad Smith's 86-yard return on the ensuing kickoff set up Folk's 31-yard field
goal for a 15-7 New York lead.
Minnesota answered with a touchdown to get within two points. An offensive
pass interference call on Moss make it 3rd-and-19 from the New York 34. Favre
threw the ball to the middle of the field for Harvin, who sprinted to the left
sideline and into the end zone. A failed two-point conversion kept the score
at 15-13 with 12:47 to play in the fourth.
Following a series of punts, the Jets started from their own 34. A 16-yard
Braylon Edwards catch and 16-yard Tomlinson run had New York at the Minnesota
23. Greene then found a gap on the right side of the line and scampered into
the end zone for a 22-13 advantage with 4:30 to go.
Favre and the Vikings made things interesting. After Harvin returned the
kickoff 44 yards, Favre put together a five-play drive. Harvin capped the
march with an 11-yard catch in the back of the end zone. The extra point cut
the deficit to 22-20 with 3:09 left.
After forcing New York to punt, Minnesota got the ball back at its own 16 with
1:48 to play. Following two bad passes, Favre was picked off by Lowery, who
went 26 yards the other way for a 29-20 Jets lead.
"I played what I felt. I made a break on the ball," Lowery said of the game-
sealing play. "The pressure got there and [Favre] had to hold the ball more
than a split second than he wanted to, and the rest is history."
Minnesota got to the New York 39 as time ran out.
The Vikings wasted little time in getting Moss involved. On the first play of
the game, Favre handed the ball off to Harvin, who gave the football to
Moss on a reverse. Moss then threw a nine-yard pass to Favre. The play was
called back after it was ruled Favre was an ineligible receiver. Minnesota
added two false start penalties during a three-and-out.
Minnesota did little with its next possession, and a 37-yard punt by Chris
Kluwe gave the Jets great field position. Tomlinson rushed the ball three
times during a seven-play drive that resulted in a 25-yard Folk field goal.
Folk's 53-yard field goal extended New York's margin to 6-0 with 5:29 to go in
the half. On the ensuing Vikings possession, Favre fumbled the snap near
midfield.
The Jets put together a 14-play drive as the rain started again. Folk made a
22-yarder to make it a 9-0 game at the break. Minnesota recorded three first
downs and 51 yards of total offense in the first half.
Favre fumbled the ball early in the third quarter, which led to a 34-yard Folk
field goal for a 12-0 contest.
Game Notes
The Jets hold an 8-1 edge in their all-time series with the Vikings, including
seven straight wins since Minnesota scored its only victory in the series, at
Metropolitan Stadium in 1975...Favre broke Warren Moon's NFL record for most
fumbles in a career. Favre has 162, compared to 161 for Moon. On Monday, Favre
reportedly addressed his teammates as a group at the team hotel in New Jersey.
He apologized for being a distraction as reports surfaced earlier in the week
of his possible inappropriate interaction with a Jets reporter while he played
in New York...Moss, who was the No. 21 overall pick of the Vikings in the 1998
Draft, was traded to the Oakland Raiders in March of 2005. Moss' questionable
effort in Oakland prompted another trade, to New England, on Draft Day 2007.
The wideout enjoyed three-plus quality seasons with the Patriots - setting an
NFL single-season record with 23 touchdown catches in his first season with
the team - but Moss' growing unhappiness over his contract had become
something of a distraction with New England. In his final game as a Patriot,
last Monday night against the Dolphins, Moss was held without a catch for just
the fifth time in his career...Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes, having
completed a four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL substance abuse
policy, caught three passes for 41 yards in his formal New York
debut...Linebacker Calvin Pace, who suffered a foot injury in the preseason,
played his first game of the year for the Jets, who also got back All-Pro
cornerback Darrelle Revis, who had been out since straining his left hamstring
in the first half of New York's 28-14 win over New England in Week 2...Edwards
caught five passes for 70 yards.
10/12 02:24:02 ET

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