Jets fans chanted their notorious “J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS” chant throughout MetLife Stadium in response to wide receiver Plaxico Burress catching a career-high 3 touchdowns on 4 receptions against the always-consistent Chargers.
Most important was his last touchdown, which put the Jets up 24-21 with 8:41 left in the 4th quarter. This created a huge momentum swing, leading to Philip Rivers getting picked off for the second time in the game by Kyle Wilson (first of his career). Then with 1:36 left, Nick Folk stepped up to ice the victory with a 30-yard field goal, putting the Jets in the win column at 4-3 while sending the Chargers back on a long flight home sitting at 4-2.
The main reason for the Jets win on Sunday was the big plays made by Burress, showing the rest of his team and the crowd that victory is always obtainable no matter what the scoreboard shows. With Burress’ new attitude and finally appearing to be in sync with quarterback Mark Sanchez, there can only be good things to come for the Jets.
But it’s hard to forget about how he was just released in the spring of this year after serving two years behind bars for accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a nightclub in Manhattan.
With all the bad publicity surrounding the event, no one knew if he was even going to be able to return to the NFL, even after his bright start in the league before the incident. When rumors came out about number 17 coming back, I thought that there was no way that any team would take the risk of bringing someone in right after an event of such magnitude. Not to mention the fact that he could be coming in out of shape, having other things on his mind, and also having to deal with the legal procedures and media after his release.
He couldn’t possibly turn into a story like Mike Vick, playing so well after getting released from prison, could he? Unlike Vick, Burress wasn’t even considered a high profile receiver at the time of his arrest.
Who would have thought that Burress would be back in the news two years later, with a career-best 3 touchdown game to lead his team to victory. We all love a comeback story, and Burress looks to be proving all the critics wrong, showing that he can still accomplish great things on the football field.
Big Al , making me proud