BY NICK ST. DENIS
Under former New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's command, the St. Louis Rams easily drove the field on their first possession to take an early lead on Gang Green.
Then the Jets showed up.
Gang Green showed plenty of backbone on defense, tallying a sack, an interception and recovering two of three forced fumbles to go with countless pressures from the front seven that threw St. Louis' offense all out of whack. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford completed just 23 of 44 pass attempts, and the Jets won 27-13.
“As the game went on, I thought [defensive coordinator] Mike Pettine and everybody did a great job. Just playing fundamentals,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said after the game, via NewYorkJets.com. “Our communication got much better and we made some plays up front.”
Jets safety Eric Smith intercepted a second-quarter pass from Bradford, and second-year defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson forced a fumble on the Rams' ensuing possession, which linebacker Bart Scott returned to the St. Louis 28.
“He gave me the alley oop, but I couldn’t finish it," Scott told SNY, according to the team's website. "I couldn’t dunk.”
Quarterback Mark Sanchez hooked up with Chaz Schilens on a touchdown strike two plays later to give the Jets a 10-7 lead, which New York never relinquished. Running back Bilal Powell scored twice
Safety LaRon Landry forced two fumbles of his own and led the team in tackles with eight.
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