December 9 at Jaguars (17-10)

"Running the ball is like trying to chop down a tree. You keep taking swings at it and eventually the whole thing, all of a sudden, comes falling down." -Nick Mangold and Jets center. And indeed it did today in Jacksonville, where the Jets narrowly and dramatically took down the Jaguars thanks to an offense that wan't afraid to run the football.

It didn't start out that way. The first half dragged in much the same way the last game did, with a score of 0-3 at halftime. What certainly didn't help is Sanchez committing his almost weekly strip-sack to turn over the ball. My confidence with him has slipped a bit in the past couple of weeks, by the way. (Please, please prove me wrong, Sanchez.) But he did have the start today under questionable Rex Ryan decision-making, and I commend Sanchez for holding it together and keeping the game going.

I have a conspiracy theory that Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell downed a few cans of Red Bull during halftime, because they came out ready to work. Our offense switched almost completely to the ground, with Sanchez handing it off a majority of the snaps and leading us to our two touchdowns, one by Greene and one by Powell. Sanchez stepped up and made a few critical third-down completions when he needed to. And finally, to put it Mangold's way, timber! That tree came falling down.

Part of this win again came down to the defense making plays and keeping it close. Their two interceptions were critical. The second one, in fact, was the game-winner. It comfortably ended Jacksonville's attempt to tie the game with 15 seconds left, after two scary fourth-down conversions kept the drive alive. Even better, Cromartie, who was feared to have a concussion, came back in just fine.

If we keep working as a team, we'll keep doing well. 6-7 keeps us in the hunt, but there's no nap time allowed. Let's keep playing well and I'll keep staying positive.