EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Despite a depleted roster, a maligned defense and a quarterback situation that seemed more and more unsustainable by the day, here the Jets were: late fourth quarter, trailing undefeated Houston by 6 points, the football in their possession. Precisely how they arrived at that moment was somewhat of a mystery, especially to a crowd that for a good portion of Monday night made MetLife Stadium sound as cold and unforgiving as Radio City Music Hall after an unpopular draft selection.
Indeed, when Mark Sanchez was shown on a video screen after being chosen by the team in 2009, the fans booed, almost in unison. But the Jets' methodology for a victory that would rank somewhere between astonishing and are-you-serious could be dissected later, for they had an opportunity, which is all they wanted, all they expected of themselves.
When Sanchez's pass caromed off Jeff Cumberland's hands and popped in the air, that opportunity disappeared. Kareem Jackson of Houston snatched the ball, his interception sealing a 23-17 loss for the Jets. A national audience that might have tuned in out of curiosity – to gauge the Texans' talent, to see Tim Tebow unleashed (not quite yet), to witness a potentially historic margin of victory – instead stayed invested for 58 minutes.
Judging by their mood afterward, the Jets, so weary of being portrayed as inferior and devoid of talent, might as well have lost by 34 points – as they did last week against San Francisco. "It goes down as a loss," guard Brandon Moore said. "There's no solace column."
No, there isn't. There is a 2 beneath their win column, a 3 beneath the loss column, and none of that is surprising given their arduous early-season schedule. It is what happens from here that will define them. In a hushed locker room afterward, where Nick Mangold would later totter through with his right ankle heavily taped, Santonio Holmes, propped by his crutches, shook his head as he lamented the loss with team owner Woody Johnson. Surely the Jets could have used Holmes on that final drive, his 6-yard touchdown stunning Houston with 10 seconds left in 2010. Across the room, Darrelle Revis's locker room stood empty, a tangible reminder of his absence.
Without them – and Dustin Keller, Sione Po'uha, Stephen Hill, John Conner and Clyde Gates, who exited early with an injured shoulder – Rex Ryan and his staff coached as if they would never coach again. "I came here to win, you know," Ryan said. "Whatever it took." So they called a fake punt from their own 24; it was successful. They went for the first down on 4th-and-1 at their own 38; that was successful, too. The gambit that backfired, just barely, transpired immediately after Joe McKnight returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, drawing the Jets to within 20-14. Ryan called for an onside kick – "that was me all the way" – and it was executed perfectly, with Chaz Schilens recovering it... until a Texan knocked the ball out with his helmet.
"Great call," Schilens said. "If we had caught it, we probably would have won the game." He added, "Close, but not close enough."
A common refrain. Trailing, 23-17, with about 10 minutes remaining, the Jets advanced to the Houston 35 before a 5-yard sack by J.J. Watt knocked them out of field-goal range. When their defense responded by stuffing Arian Foster, who rushed for 152 of the Texans' 169 yards, on third-and-1 at the Houston 41, the Jets' offense advanced as far as its own 40 before Jackson's interception.
"The thing that's upsetting, I think, is we helped them," Ryan said. "Clearly they are a good football team. They don't need any help."
The Jets' defense, smarting after allowing 245 rushing yards against San Francisco, held Houston to 6 points after halftime. Sanchez, who over the last three games had completed 43.6 percent of his passes (44 of 101) in leading the Jets to one touchdown in 34 possessions, kept the Jets close. Sanchez completed 14 of 31 for 230 yards and two interceptions, both on tipped passes.
"I think he played better than his numbers indicated," Coach Rex Ryan said of Sanchez.
The mood around the locker room all week smacked of we're-better-than-this optimism and how-dare-you defiance, emotions produced by a trouncing so thorough that the Jets' very pride was called into question. In a radio interview, San Francisco cornerback Carlos Rogers intimated that the Jets' defense quit in the fourth quarter. His comments did not go unnoticed. When his unit convened Wednesday, the defensive coordinator Mike Pettine distributed copies. Players read them in stunned silence.
"We're going to swing, that's for sure," Ryan said. "We're not going to just take it."
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