By Andrea Adelson
The Associated Press
East Rutherford, N.J. – Byron Leftwich switched plays just before a crucial third down in overtime against the New York Jets.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Leftwich noticed the Jets’ defense was jumping routes on third down all day, so he decided to send Jimmy Smith long. The strategy worked.
Leftwich threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Smith, giving Jacksonville a 26-20 win over the Jets on Sunday, although the Jaguars had to survive a replay review after Smith initially was ruled down at the 1.
The Jets (1-2) have bigger troubles: Quarterback Chad Pennington strained his right shoulder again, and backup Jay Fiedler could be out for a while with a right shoulder injury.
“Byron made a good call,” said Smith, 36, but seemingly ageless, who beat David Barrett on the winning score. “He told me to run a slant-and-go. Fortunately, I ran a good enough route for him to make the easy throw.”
Leftwich finished 16-of-23 for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception despite a groin injury. Teammate Fred Taylor had a career-high 37 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. The win was big for the Jaguars (2-1), who put in a strong effort last week at Indianapolis but came up just short.
“These kind of games, when you pull them out, do wonders for the confidence,” Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. “The guys start believing and understanding that it doesn’t always go exactly how you’d like to go, but you’ve got to find a way to scratch out a win.”
Perhaps it was too much to ask Chad Pennington to lead with a bum right shoulder. Pennington left in the third period after straining his shoulder on consecutive sacks. It is the same one in which he had a torn rotator cuff repaired in the offseason.
But it wasn’t long before he was back in when backup Jay Fiedler hurt his right shoulder.
Though Brooks Bollinger started warming up, Pennington came back in the fourth quarter. Fielder and Pennington will have MRI exams today, but Pennington said “they’ll have to cut it off for me not to play.”
That might not be up to him. Pennington finished 9-of-19 for 76 yards and two interceptions, and coach Herman Edwards said Bollinger might have to start next week at Baltimore.
Curtis Martin could not get going, either, finishing with 67 yards on 18 carries.
“Offensively, we’re all searching for answers right now,” Pennington said. “We’re just taking turns messing plays up.”
Mike Nugent kicked a 25-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. The kick came after an officials review overturned a called touchdown – replays showed Wayne Chrebet bobbled the 7-yard pass from Pennington.
Pennington threw an interception to start the extra period.
Leftwich also tossed an interception, but the Jets got pinned deep thanks to two penalties and punted.
Jacksonville got the ball back on the Jets 34 and took advantage.
“Jimmy and I are on a level where I know what he’s going to do,” Leftwich said. “We’ve got that vibe where we understand each other, that we’re able to do things outside of the route and make things happen.”
