“The Cheap Seats: Notebook” NFL GameDay Blog: December 28, 2008 – East Rutherford, NJ
›7:18 pm: That does it from here at Giants Stadium. The final: 24-17, Dolphins. With the victory, Miami becomes the 2008 AFC East Champions. Even if the Jets had won, they’d still have been sent home due to wins by both New England and Baltimore.
›7:16 pm: One final shot for the Jets. The ball is on their own 1 yard line, and let’s see if Favre, who has many big comebacks in his career, can drive them 99 yards to tie the game.
›6:58 pm: Interception number three on the day for Favre. It’s the second time this season Favre’s thrown three in a game, the first coming on Oct. 26 against Kansas City. Mangini mouthed “What are you doing?” as his quarterback walked off the field. Andre’ Goodman, who had an interception earlier in the game, was the man on the receiving end of Favre’s bad pass.
›6:46 pm: The Dolphins have pulled ahead by seven on a 48-yard field goal by Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter. Jets trail, 24-17.
›6:40 pm: Dolphins linebacker Charlie Anderson blocked the Jets punt, and the ball was recovered on the Jets 49 yard line.
›6:32 pm: The Jets are trailing, 21-17, as wrap up the third quarter here at Giants Stadium. Can Chad Pennington lead the Dolphins to the division title against his former team? Is this the last quarter of Brett Favre’s career? Will the Packers get a second or third round draft pick? Those, as well as several others, will all be answered over the next 15 minutes.
›6:14 pm: A huge drive for the Dolphins and Pennington. He started the drive out with a 44-yard pass up the middle to Ginn. A few plays later, Pennington hit tight end Anthony Fasano from the 20-yard line for the touchdown. Fasano, who had to make a turnaround adjustment on the catch, gets tons of credit for making the score happen.
›5:59 pm: Leon Washington busted up the middle for the score from 10 yards out. Head coach Eric Mangini opted for the two-point conversion — to make up for the botched field goal — and they were able to complete (Favre hit Jerricho Cotchery). That puts the Jets up by three, 17-14, with 10:37 to go.
›5:59 pm: The Jets just got a big break. The Dolphins went to punt and the snap went over the head of punter Brandon Fields. The Jets now have the ball on the Dolphins 28.
›5:43 pm: Jay Feely knocked a field goal through the uprights to bring the Jets within six. 14-9 Dolphins.
›5:31 pm: The very next play after the kickoff Favre’s pass intended for Thomas Jones was intercepted by Phillip Merling and run in for the score. Favre went after Merling and tried to swipe the ball out, to no avail. The touchdown gives the Dolphins the 14-6 lead. It’s Favre’s 21st interception on the year and most in a season since tossing 29 in 2005.
›5:28 pm: A nice job by Pennington to hit Ted Ginn Jr. for the 27-yard touchdown. The pass was placed perfectly for Ginn to go up for it in the left corner of the end zone. The Dolphins hit their extra point and have taken the 7-0 lead.
›5:12 pm: The Jets are the first ones to get on the scoreboard. Favre hit Laveranues Coles for a 13-yard pass to end the Jets scoring drive. The Jets botched the extra point, however, to leave the score at 6-0.
›5:04 pm: Who needs an interceptions when you can pick up a fumble? That’s what the Jets just did following a sack of Pennington. Jason Trusnik is credited with the fumble recovery.
›5:01 pm: Pennington only has seven interceptions on the season, 13 less than his former team’s QB. After being picked just a few seconds ago, the play was reversed thanks to a defensive holding call on Ty Law.
› 4:49 pm: The big screens here at the stadium just showed the Jacksonville/Ravens score. The Jaguars are up 7-3. I guess they’re only making the score available when the Jags are losing.
› 4:44 pm: This scenario could come back to bite the Dolphins in the tail. Second and seven with the ball on the Jets 40, Pennington drops back to pass. Two Dolphin receivers are wide open downfield. The QB airs it out for running back Ricky Williams, who completely drops the ball. That’s about as bad a miss as I’ve seen in a long time.
› 4:36 pm: What a hit on Dolphins tight end David Martin. The eight-year pro caught Pennington’s pass and was kneed in the head as he was being tackled. Martin stayed down for a few minutes before walking off on his own. That’s great news considering how the hit looked.
› 4:28 pm: Favre may be trying to show that his arm strength is not an issue. The Jets QB just overthrew his wide receiver and was picked off. He’s now thrown interceptions in six straight games, and has thrown them in all but three games all year long. Also worth noting: the pick was his 20th of the season, which leads the NFL.
› 3:33 pm: I noticed the scoreboard in the stadium is not running the Patriots/Bills score. They’re also not previewing that they’ll be showing the Jaguars/Ravens score.
› 3:10 pm: I made my way onto the field before the game. Walking a few steps in front of me was Chad Pennington. The former Jets quarterback is making his return to Giants Stadium for the first time since his August release. Pennington received a nice reception from the crowd as he made his way through the tunnel.
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