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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The flashlight was brighter than the star.
Wayne Chrebet upstaged former teammate Keyshawn Johnson on
Sunday, catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from running back Curtis
Martin with 52 seconds remaining to give the New York Jets a 21-17
victory over Tampa Bay.
|  | | Wayne Chrebet had the last laugh Sunday, catching the game-winning touchdown. |
Johnson was a frequent critic of Chrebet when both were with the
Jets and even wrote about it in the book "Just Give Me the Damn
Ball." Johnson disrespected Chrebet again in the week leading to
the game matching 3-0 teams.
The Buccaneers receiver also likened his former teammate to a
flashlight and himself to a star. Chrebet didn't respond before the
game, and he said the winning catch wasn't a message for Johnson,
either.
"It's not about that, guys. You're losing sight of what's
important here," Chrebet said.
"The New York Jets are 4-0. We haven't been in this situation,
I don't know, ever. This is a big 180. We used to lose games like
this. I think that's so important. I can stand up here and say
things and point fingers, but I'm bigger than that."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Going into the fourth quarter, it looked like this one was over. But to the Jets' credit, they never quit.
It was certainly poetic justice that Jets WR Wayne Chrebet should catch the winning touchdown pass after all the talking that former teammate and Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson did throughout the week.
For Keyshawn (one catch, one yard), maybe next week he'll do a little less talking and a little more preparation to get ready for their game against the Redskins.
It has to be a gut-wrenching loss for Tampa Bay, because the Jets struggled early. Vinny Testaverde (three interceptions) was far from sharp and was benched for a series in favor of Ray Lucas. But the veteran Testaverde was there to lead the Jets' drive for the game-winning touchdown.
The one-series benching of Testaverde may have been a wake-up call or an attempt by coach Groh to get Vinny to calm down. Groh realized that to win the game, he was going to need Vinny.
Al Groh is a master motivator and psychologist. Whatever the motivation or reason was, it worked -- and Vinny came back to lead the Jets to a huge road win.
The Jets have proven with three fourth-quarter victories that they are a well-conditioned team and a well-coached team. Al Groh's staff does an outstanding job game-planning and utilizing their personnel. The Jets don't quit and because of that they're 4-0 -- the best start in franchise history.
Groh, by the way, has been over the years one of the better-kept secrets in the league.
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Johnson, traded to the Bucs for a pair of first-round draft
picks in April, caught only one pass for 1 yard. And for the third
time in their four games, the Jets came back to win after trailing
in the fourth quarter.
"They dug deep. They have the heart to continue to fight
back," Johnson said of his old team. "They did the job. What more
are you going to say?"
Vinny Testaverde, playing for the first time in eight years in
the city where he spent the first six seasons of his NFL career,
bounced back from throwing three interceptions to get the Jets in
the end zone twice in the final two minutes.
Victor Green recovered Mike Alstott's fumble at the Tampa Bay 24
to set up the winning score, two plays after Testaverde's 6-yard TD
pass to Martin and a 2-point conversion pass made it 17-14.
Martin took a handoff from Testaverde and looked like he was
going to sweep right end before pulling up and throwing to a
wide-open Chrebet in the back of the end zone.
"Curtis isn't the best passer in the world," Chrebet said.
"The first time we ran it (in practice) was pretty ugly. I was
standing there waiting for it. It was like a duck ... I said:
'Please, just give him enough time to get the ball off, and he hit
me."'
It looked like the Bucs would be able to win without a big
offensive day from Johnson as Jacquez Green set up a field goal
with a 75-yard reception and Alstott and Warrick Dunn keyed a
running game that produced 118 yards.
Ronde Barber scored on a 37-yard interception return and Shaun
King threw a 3-yard TD pass to Dave Moore for Tampa Bay, which had
a five-game regular-season winning streak stopped one shy of the
franchise record.
The Jets, unbeaten after four games for the first time since
1966, extended the NFL's longest regular-season winning streak to
eight games. They were held to a pair of first-half field goals by
John Hall until Testaverde returned from being benched for one
series.
Testaverde, 16-2 as a Jets starter, spent six losing seasons in
Tampa Bay, compiling a 24-48 record and throwing 102 interceptions
as a starter before signing with the Cleveland Browns as a free
agent after the 1992 season.
"Coming back here really had no bearing on how I felt about the
game," Testaverde said. "The important thing is that I was coming
here to win a ballgame."
On Sunday, he completed 22 of 42 passes for 181 yards, and the
Bucs didn't add to their NFL-leading sack total until Ray Lucas
replaced Testaverde for one series in the fourth quarter.
Martin had 90 yards rushing on 18 carries and caught seven
passes for 27 yards. Chrebet, with whom Johnson has had a running
feud since 1996, finished with two receptions for 32 yards.
Johnson's only catch came on a shovel pass the Bucs ran late in
the second quarter. He said heavy rain, which began about an hour
before kickoff and ended during the first half, affected Tampa
Bay's offensive plan.
"I can't explain it," he said of having just one reception.
"How can I explain it. That was the plays we called. We ran the
ball. We didn't throw the ball all that well. I think the rain took
us out of our passing game a little bit."
The late collapse was uncharacteristic of the Tampa Bay defense,
which was dominant in helping the Bucs win their first three games.
The Jets defense, meanwhile, proved itself by intercepting two
passes and forcing two fumbles, the last on Mo Lewis' sack on the
Bucs' last possession.
Game
notes
Movie director Spike Lee was on the Bucs sideline before
the game wearing King's No. 10 jersey ... The Jets' eight-game
regular-season winning streak is the second-longest in team
history. New York won nine straight in 1986 ... The Bucs' home
winning streak was stopped at eight.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
NY Jets Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Clayton: Martin has always been the key
Johnson decoy ploy fakes out Bucs
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Al Groh talks about the half-back pass that won the game for the Jets.
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Keyshawn Johnson gives the Jets credit for their win on Sunday.
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Curtis Martin says the Jets are no strangers to come-back wins.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bryan Cox says New York wanted to show off its defense against the Bucs.
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Wayne Chrebet says the game against the Bucs was just another game.
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Bryan Cox says the Jets have confidence in Vinny Testaverde.
wav: 48 k
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Despite all the laughs in practice, Curtis Martin says his passing skills are no joke.
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In practice, Wayne Chrebet had little confidence in Curtis Martins' quarterbacking skills.
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In Vinny Testaverde's mind, none was more deserving of catching the winning TD than Wayne Chrebet.
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Coach Al Groh was extremely happy to see Wayne Chrebet in the spotlight.
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