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Jets annihilate Jaguars

Sep 18, 2011 - 10:18 PM East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Dustin Keller caught six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, helping the New York Jets destroy the Jacksonville Jaguars, 32-3, in Week 2 action.

Mark Sanchez completed 17-of-24 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Jets (2-0), who rallied past the Cowboys, 27-24, last Sunday.

Shonn Greene carried the ball 16 times for 49 yards and a score for New York. Santonio Holmes hauled in three passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.

"Last night, we challenged our team that there was one streak that we wanted to break and that was struggling offensively," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said. "That's really a team deal -- it's not just struggling on offense. It's a team statistic."

The news was not all good for the Jets, who lost All-Pro center Nick Mangold to an ankle injury late in the first quarter. Rookie Colin Baxter took over for Mangold.

Luke McCown connected on 6-of-19 passes for 59 yards and four interceptions for the Jaguars (1-1), who failed to build off a 16-14 victory over the Titans last weekend. McCown's passer rating was a dismal 1.8.

"It was one of those days where it was honestly nothing they were doing...This was on me, and I'll do better," McCown said.

Blaine Gabbert, the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, played the fourth quarter due to McCown's poor play. The Missouri product completed 5-of-6 passes for 52 yards.

Maurice Jones-Drew was the lone bright spot for Jacksonville, rushing for 88 yards on 18 carries.

It didn't take long for the Jets to get on the board. New York covered 65 yards in six plays on the opening drive of the game. Keller's 33-yard catch put the ball at the 17. On the next play, Sanchez used a play-action pass to find Holmes in the back of the end zone.

"We haven't scored an offensive touchdown in the first quarter in the last 16 games and a lot of us didn't realize that," Keller said. "That's pretty much embarrassing. The point of emphasis was to get the ball to the offense early in the game. We won the toss and we went down and put an end to that streak. It was really big for us."

Muhammad Wilkerson sacked McCown in the end zone to give the Jets an early 9-0 lead.

Josh Scobee made a 55-yard field goal with 3:02 left in the first quarter to cut the gap to six, 9-3.

Nick Folk responded with a 38-yard field goal early in the second stanza to make it 12-3.

Sanchez was picked off by Rashean Mathis on the next Jets possession. Antonio Cromartie gave New York's offense another shot with an interception. His 37-yard return put the ball at the 40-yard line of the Jets.

The home team did little on offense and was forced to punt. McCown was picked off by safety Eric Smith next time around. A personal foul call on the Jaguars gave New York the ball at the Jacksonville 28.

Folk's 45-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the half made it 15-3.

Following multiple punts to start the second half, the Jets started at their own eight-yard line with 9:08 left. On 3rd-and-4, Sanchez carried the ball seven yards for a fresh set of downs. A defensive illegal contact penalty was added to end of the run. Holmes caught an 18-yard pass to set up New York in the red zone. Keller capped the eight-play drive with an 11-yard TD catch to make it 22-3 with under four minutes remaining.

Cromartie put the game away for the Jets on Jacksonville's ensuing drive. Cromartie stepped in front of McCown's pass and sprinted 26 yards down the left sideline. Replay showed that Cromartie was pushed out at the one-yard line. Greene rumbled into the end zone to give New York a 29-3 margin with 1 1/2 minutes left.

McCown could only shake his head after throwing another interception to linebacker Josh Mauga. Folk capitalized with a 23-yarder to make it a 32-3 game early in the fourth.

Gabbert took over for McCown and led the Jaguars to the 24-yard line of the Jets. Jones-Drew was stuffed on fourth down.

Game Notes

Jacksonville leads the all-time series with New York, 6-3...Scobee's 55-yarder in the first quarter is longest by a Jets opponent at home since Miami's Pete Stoyanovich hit from 59 yards out in 1989...Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis (strained calf) missed the game...The Jets are 7-1 under Ryan in September.