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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- Vinny Testaverde's neck felt better.
Curtis Martin's legs weren't bad, either.
|  | | Curtis Martin of the Jets scores one his three touchdowns during Sunday's victory over the Patriots. |
Testaverde, recovering from a pinched nerve in his neck, took
all but one snap at quarterback for the Jets, and Martin showed the
Patriots what he once gave them -- a running game -- as New York
dominated New England 34-17 Sunday.
Martin rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns in his third
season since he left the Patriots as a free agent.
"Right now, they're the enemy," he said. "I don't wish them
bad. I wish them all the success, except when they play us."
The Jets tied idle Miami for the AFC East lead at 5-1 after
losing to Pittsburgh 20-3 a week earlier. Testaverde left that game
after his first offensive play when he pinched a nerve in his neck.
Coach Al Groh played coy and didn't reveal whether Testaverde or
Ray Lucas would start.
Testaverde said he felt an occasional tingling in his left arm,
but not as much pain as he did last Sunday. As long as he could
hand off to Martin, the Jets should be OK.
"He's sure making me look good," Testaverde said. "Curtis is
our workhorse. We go as he goes."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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The Jets absolutely dominated this football game right from the beginning.
It started with a Curtis
Martin touchdown run and continued with a Victor Green interception return
for a touchdown -- and the Jets never looked back.
Vinny Testaverde had an OK
performance coming off his pinched-nerve injury last week, but the focus of
the Jets' attack was the running game (mainly an outstanding Martin).
The Jets were conservative in their game plan. Testaverde came through
the game with his health intact, even though he was sacked a couple of
times.
For the Patriots, coming off two impressive victories and two impressive games by
Drew Blesdoe, this was not a good performance.
Bledsoe threw four interceptions. He was harassed all day and under
tremendous pressure form the Jets' defense (seven sacks). Jets rookie
linebacker John Abraham (two
sacks) continued his excellent play.
Another encouraging rookie for the Jets has been wide receiver Laveranues Coles, who had his
best game as a pro (six catches, 53 yards). The Jets seem to be
developing more confidence each week in Coles' ability.
The Patriots might need to go back to the drawing board on offense. They also
need to do a better job of tackling. It seemed like they missed a lot of
tackles in this one.
For the Jets, this is a good response after a disappointing home defeat last
week to the Steelers (the Jets' only defeat of the season).
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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The Jets defense did well, too, as Drew Bledsoe was sacked a
career-high seven times. It forced six turnovers from a team that
had five in its other six games. The win set up a showdown for
first place next Monday night with the Dolphins.
"The important lesson for our team is that, in this league,
just because you win one week doesn't mean you're going to win next
week," Groh said. "Momentum is an overstated thing."
It was for the Patriots (2-5). They won consecutive games
against Denver and Indianapolis after losing their first four.
"Right now, time is of the essence," Patriots linebacker Ted
Johnson said, "and we've got no time."
The Jets wasted little time capitalizing on New England mistakes
to take a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. A fumble led
to Martin's 2-yard touchdown run, and Victor Green followed with
21-yard interception return for a touchdown.
"We were in a hole," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said, "but there
was time. We felt we could come back, but they had the answers."
The Jets answered with Martin, who rushed 34 times. He had his
second 100-yard rushing game this season and his ninth biggest
output of his six NFL seasons. He also rushed for three touchdowns
for the second time in his career.
"We all know the type of running back that Curtis is,"
Patriots cornerback Ty Law said. "A team that runs the ball is
hard to beat."
Since Martin left after rushing for more than 1,100 yards in
each of his three seasons, the Patriots have had a different
starting running back every year -- Robert Edwards in 1998, Terry
Allen in 1999 and Kevin Faulk this year. Faulk did run for a 9-yard
touchdown that made the score 14-10 Sunday, but it was only New
England's second rushing touchdown of the season.
Bledsoe did score on a 13-yard run for his first career
touchdown with 9:38 left in the game. All that did was cut the lead
to 31-17, and John Hall added a 27-yard field goal for the Jets.
Martin ran through a Patriots defense missing starting tackle
Chad Eaton with a knee injury.
He rushed for only 47 yards in the Jets' 20-19 win over the
Patriots on Sept. 11 and 59 yards against the Steelers. But on
Sunday he matched his three-TD showing for the Patriots on Nov. 3,
1996 against Miami.
After Faulk's fumble was recovered by Bryan Cox, Martin got the
first touchdown before Green scored 55 seconds later. The Patriots
closed to 14-10 on Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal and Faulk's
touchdown.
Martin scored again on a 4-yard run that capped a 14-play,
75-yard drive helped by a trick play. The Jets gambled on a
fourth-and-2 at the Patriots 22 when they lined up in field-goal
formation, then came out of it. Linebacker Mo Lewis took a pitchout
and ran 3 yards.
"I didn't expect to come out and do it today," Lewis said.
"When they called it, I was shocked."
Martin scored on another 2-yard run for a 31-10 lead late in the
third quarter.
The Jets took a 24-10 halftime lead on Hall's 38-yard field goal
after Bledsoe fumbled when he was sacked by John Abraham, and Shaun
Ellis recovered at the Patriots 43.
"That was our poorest performance of the year," Patriots coach
Bill Belichick said. "We got outplayed and outcoached in every
phase of the game."
Game
notes
The Patriots managed 51 yards rushing, led by Faulk's 26.
... The Jets held the ball for 37:54 of the 60 minutes. In their
first meeting, New York's 20-19 win on Sept. 11, the Patriots had
it for 38:00. ... Abraham hurt his shoulder and said "hopefully,
everything will be OK for the game against Miami." ... The
Patriots are 4-27 in their last 31 games when they scored less than
20 points, 36-4 when they scored 20 or more. ... The Jets are 6-1
in their last seven games against the Patriots.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
NY Jets Clubhouse
New England Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Victor Green says the Jets wanted to put pressure on Drew Bledsoe.
wav: 148 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Vinny Testaverde was happy he could contribute to such an important victory.
wav: 147 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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