Powell, Petty Lead Jets Late Rally To Beat 49ers in Overtime

Bilal Powell, No. 29 (AP Photo)

The New York Jets won a close game against the San Francisco 49ers as they rallied back from a 14-point deficit late in the game. The game was forced into overtime by the Jets and was won on a Bilal Powell 19-yard touchdown run with 8:35 remaining in OT. This win marked the Jets first win in overtime since 2015 when they beat the New England Patriots back on 12/27/15.  This was the first time since the 2011 season opener against Dallas that the Jets overcame a 14-point deficit.

After a rough first half the Jets were able to string together a couple of good drives that ended with scores in the second half of the game.  Bryce Petty was 23 for 25 passing and threw for 257 yards. Petty did not have touchdowns, but did have a score for a 2-point conversion that helped the Jets get back into the game and eventually tie the game to force overtime. He dd throw a interception on the first play of the game, but after that interception he was able to bounce back and end the game on a good note.

Another Jet who had a great game was the guy who won the game and that is Bilal Powell. Powell became the workhorse after Matt Forte left the game early with a knee injury. Powell rushed 29 times for 145 with two touchdowns and he was averaging five yards a carry. Powell could not be stopped and he was another reason why the Jets were able to win this game. He also had a career-high 179 scrimmage yards in this game which is the most by a Jets running back on the road since Curtis Martin did it back in 2004 with 175 scrimmage yards (1/2 vs St. Louis).  Powell broke another Jets record by being the second Jets running back since 1975 to have 145 or more rushing yards and two or more rushing touchdowns. The last Jet running back to do that on the road was when John Riggins accomplished this feat against New England.

This was Powell’s second time getting to the 100-yard rushing mark in his career and the first time since 2013 (9/22 against BUF). Say what you want about the current Jets quarterback situation, but Petty never gave up in this game and showed that he can win when it all counts. Petty was exposed to some good situational football and was able to bounce back from an early interception.  The team has shown that they have not quit on their head coach Todd Bowles as they battled back in this game. They showed a lot of grit in this game against the 49ner’s and showed that they will fight for Petty too. Petty was able to rally the team together late in this game and made great throws late in the game to get the Jets down the field. One notable was in overtime when he was able to scramble outside, throw across his chest to find a wide open Robby Anderson for a first down. This would then set up the winning score for the Jets.

Another Jet who had a milestone was wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall finished the game with 33 receiving yards on just three receptions which brought his career receiving  total to 12,000 to become the 25th wide out in NFL history to have 12,000 or more.  Marshall also became the eighth wide receiver in history of the NFL to accomplish this in just 165 or fewer games.

The Jets improve to 4-9 on the season and San Francisco falls to 1-12. The Jets will return home next week as they have a divisional showdown with the Miami Dolphins at MetLife on Saturday night at 8:30PM. The Jets have a chance to end the season on a strong note and spoil the Dolphins playoff hopes by beating them this upcoming week. This game could of been more  about draft positioning as both teams might be  getting a top five draft pick, but the way the game went for both Petty and the Jets was far more enticing than a early draft pick.